RB Leipzig vs Manchester City summary: score, goals and highlights | Champions League 22/23
RB Leipzig vs Manchester City: as it happened
Signing off...
That's all for tonight from me, guys!
But don't go too far...
Tomorrow we've got another massive game: Manchester United vs FC Barcelona!
Joe
REUTERS
A difficult night for Monster Boy:
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Shots: 1
Shotsontarget: 0
Touches: 21
Passes: 14
Passaccuracy: 79%
I think somebody missed Kevin De Bruyne...
Look at that jump!
He's not just a great defender but a fantastic footballer in every moment, both on and off the ball.
Who was your MVP?
For me, it's probably Akanji or Henrichs, who made a brilliant impact for the home side when he came on for the second half. But the numbers say Mahrez, and with that goal, there's not much I can argue about.
Sofascore's analysis:
Look at the massive difference between the two halves!
If only there was a saying for games like these...
CRAIG BROUGH / REUTERS
Here come the questions...
Since tonight was the first time ever that Guardiola had not used a single substitute in a Champions League game, the questions are surely going to arise of why he decided against using both Phil Foden and Julián Álvarez.
The English midfielder is an expert at breaking through a defensive block with a pass or dribble, and the Argentinian moves in a different way to Haaland and asks different questions of the defenders. They could have been the answers.
Gvardi-goal? Anyone?
I'll get my coat...
Anyway, enough of my jokes, take a look at that touch map.
A frustrated Guardiola wanted his side to sort things out.
He wasn't a happy man at full time, that's for sure!
Oh, I've just seen Guardiola on the pitch after the game, who is absolutely furious at his team, and has them in a circle looking at the floor has he waves his arms wildly at them.
FT: RB Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City
Manchester City must have left all their energy beans in the changing room, as the second half from them was very flat and probably could have done with a few changes from the coach to liven things up on the pitch.
RB Leipzig, on the other hand, will be pleased by their second half performance, as they kept Guardiola's side at bay (for the most part) and created the better chances.
Overall, a draw is probably fair, but only because of City and their lack of capability to feed Haaland up front against Orban and Gvardiol, who was lonelier than Michael Collins when Aldrin and Armstrong left him floating in space on board the Lunar Command Module of Apollo 11 while they danced on the moon.
A draw is probably a fine result for City, who will go into the second leg with a huge advantage by virtue of being at home, but they will know that RB Leipzig have the capacity to create them problems of their own.
GAME OVER!
Man City players run to the referee to claim the handball at the end of the game.
SHOUTS FOR HANDBALL...
The last chance...
Corner to City, 15 seconds to go.
About 90 seconds to go, and this feels like a game that nobody wants to lose...
2 added minutes.
Henrichs booked (the first of the night) after a late challenge on Gundogan.
Halstenberg OFF
Raum ON
City are pinging the ball around the back line while RB Leipzig sit off and wait...
Guardiola's side have lost all the energy from the first half and the manager is yet to make a change.
Grealish seems to be the only player with a bit of electricity in his boots.
Nkunku gets on the end of a loose ball and Henrichs gets on the end of a cross, but not before Szoboszlai gets in his way, causing the shot to land at the feet of Aké.
1 shot for Leipzig in the first half; 5 in the second.
Silva and Schlager OFF
Haidara and Poulsen ON
Nkunku fouled by Mahrez: some fancy footwork is put to an end by a stomp on his leg.
Back underway. City are edging closer, but they know that Leipzig now have a huge counter-attacking presence.
Andre Silva is down after being nudged by Walker in the ribs. He looks winded.
Haaland is shouting at his teammates to find him and play behind the defensive line. Frustration is growing in the Red Bull Arena for the away side who are still pushing.
City are increasingly looking towards Grealish to get something down the left...
HUGE SAVE!
Blaswich!
A great move from City saw Rodri open the play to Grealish, who fired a low cross to Gundogan. The shot was low and fast, but Blaswich was faster to get down and hold out a strong hand to stop it!
Nkunku is leading the Leipzig press that is now causing City trouble in buildup.
Back underway...
Szoboszlai had a ferocious shot from distance that Ederson picked out of the top corner of the goal and out of play.
The corner followed and Ederson came flying out, missed the ball and Gvardiol headed into an open net!
Game on!
WHAT A SHOT!
Szoboszlai!
Haaland shoots wide!
A half-chance for him is a no-chance for anyone else. It was incredibly difficult and from a tight angle down the right wing.
Comfortable for the home side to defend.
Nkunku wins the ball back and RB Leipzig work a wonderful sequence of passes through impossible gaps into the box, with Akanji getting a vital touch before Andre Silva could jump in.
Forsberg OFF
Nkunku ON
Here comes Nkunku!
Forsberg slips and slides through various challenges and pops the ball off to Henrichs, who has given a new life to the side.
Aké blocks the cross.
ANDRE SILVA TRIES TO CHIP EDERSON!
SAVED!
The striker got in behind and tried to lob the coolest of shots over the goalkeeper; better options were available.
Hearts across the stadium fell out of trouser legs as Gundogan and Haaland broke away but the pass from the German towards Monster Boy was blocked by the Leipzig defender.
Grealish intercepts a pass from Laimer that was aimed at Henrichs but the midfielder charges back to steal the ball from the City player.
City are attacking now, but with a lot more loose balls and pressure to do so quickly, given the pressure they are under. Maybe this was the plan all along!
Leipzig are much more aggressive this half. They are pressing well, putting the defenders under pressure and not letting the midfielders have anywhere near as much time on the ball as they did in the first half. It's like their players have wings.
EDERSON SAVES!
Werner fired a low cross in and the goalkeeper could only push it away. The German got in behind on the left side, the classic Werner move.
HENRICHS MISSES A HUGE CHANCE!!!!
He was played in down the right by Szoboszlai and was all on his own but perhaps he had too much time to think and slid his shot wide of the goal from the penalty spot!
LEIPZIG GO CLOSE!
Henrichs heads over!
That was a nice bit of buildup: Halstenberg crossed from the left to the arriving right-back who headed over and sent Ederson punshing thin air.
Bernardo Silva gets the ball in the Leipzig box but he tries too much and loses possession after having a couple of chances to shoot.
CHANCE FOR CITY
Ake wins the ball high up (after another mistake) and plays it down the line to Gundogan.
The German hits a low cross to the penalty spot and Mahrez smacks a shot into Schlager's leg.
RB Leipzig look to be popping the ball about with a bit more zip now... finally!
Werner gets the ball in the left channel and, up against Akanji, tries to shoot instead of taking him on. The shot is blocked easily by the defender.
This is definite change from the home side in the opening minutes, and a positive one at that.
Laimer's line-breaking pass hits the referee and Forsberg looks genuinely gutted, throwing his arms in the air.
No Christmas cards for the referee this year.
Akanji slips as Andre Silva gives him a little shove in the back.
RB Leipzig are pressing well in the opening seconds.
A big long ball from Forsberg sends a new message that we hadn't seen once in the first half. Akanji clears.
And we're off!
Klostermann OFF
Henrichs ON
The players are back on the pitch!
We're almost ready to go again!
RB Leipzig look to be preparing some changes...
More Mahrez?
Of course you want more. Now he's amongst some great African names in this list, that's for sure!
HT: RB Leipzig 0-1 Manchester City
Cor, blimey, that's about as comfortable a half of football as your'e likely to see at this level. City are rolling down the road in first gear with their hands off the wheel, and it's not a problem at all.
Mahrez broke the deadlock after a sloppy pass in the middle of the pitch was cut out by Grealish, but even before then City had performed adequately enough to keep RB Leipzig from doing, well, anything.
There was no impetus from the home side until the final second, when Werner had a curling shot saved by Ederson, but until then it really looked as though the side needed an injection of energy. Perhaps Nkunku is the answer...
Half time!
WERNER FORCES A SAVE!
He worked the ball well from the left side and fired a shot into Ederson's hands!
Groans from the crowd after Laimer decides not to play a long ball over the top to Forsberg, who had made a daring run.
1 added minute.
RB Leipzig have what one might call 'an attack', but it breaks down so quickly, does it even count?
Gundogan gets in behind but his cross to Haaland is blocked by Klostermann.
City continue their probing passes around the back, switching the play from left to right, trying to break open Leipzig's block, quite in the same way a jelly falls to pieces after being shaken on a plate, I imagine.
RB Leipzig have a (quarter) chance!
Halstenberg gets the ball from Gvardiol and hits a cross towards Silva, but it flies out of play.
Gundogan makes a run forward which opens space for Grealish.
Mahrez sees it and sends a long ball to the ex-Villa winger, who wins a corner for his side.
Rodri heads over.
Haaland has been relatively quiet so far, maybe he needs an energy drink. I wonder if there are any in the changing room fridges.
GREALISH HITS OVER THE BAR!
Bernardo broke through the lines with the ball and made his way into the box, fighting off a million attempted tackles. He passed the ball left to Grealish, who hits a curling shot high and wide.
Gvardiol breaks down the left and hits a heavy pass way over the heads of every single one of his teammates. That's the pressure of having nothing of the ball.
This is insanely comfortable for Pep Guardiola's side. Leipzig haven't even got any gloves to lay a punch on them, let along do any damage.
We're back underway.
RB Leipzig are trying to build up.
City win the ball back in 10 seconds.
Grealish is down. Tick that off your bingo cards.
SO CLOSE TO NUMBER TWO!
RODRI HEADS JUST WIDE!
A training ground routine, Mahrez hit a high, lopping cross to Rodri at the back post and the midfielder headed across the goal line but the ball didn't: a) go in, or b) fall to Haaland
Corner to City, who are circling like sharks...
One clear chance, one goal. That's all they need.
RB Leipzig's objective doesn't change: arrive in Manchester still in the tie.
Grealish got on the end of a sloppy pass from Schlager on the edge of the box.
He slid the ball in towards Gundogan, who left it for Mahrez and the Algerian fired across goal into the bottom right corner from just inside the area.
CIty draw blood. Let's see how that changes the game.
RB Leipzig win the ball back after Mahrez is caught offside.
Aké breaks the spell and fires in a cross towards Haaland, but Gvardiol gets there instead.
Laimer heads away Walker's cross soon after.
City keep the same stretch of possession I've been talking about for 50 minutes now, but their block is slowly creeping forward...
Bernardo plays a huge switch to Grealish, who goes on a mazy run but somehow ends up back next to Akanji, on the right side of defence. I think he had his compass upside down.
RB Leipzig push City all the way back to Ederson, but City just continue to ping the ball between themselves.
Left-right-left-right-left-right... in search of that gap in the Leipzig defence.
Offside again for Andre Silva. I make that 3 now.
Rodri hits a first-time shot over the bar from the edge of the box.
Mahrez won the ball back high up before Bernardo slid the ball across the 18-yard line to the Spaniard.
Mahrez hits the wall. RB Leipzig survive.
Grealish makes a dangerous diagonal run towards the penalty spot and is brought down outside the box by Schlager.
A huge chance for City to shoot from the free-kick.
Forsberg plays a fabulous switch to the right and the ball is played into the box towards Silva, who can't quite get his head on the cross. If only he hadn't had a haircut.
Rúben Dias gets City's first shot on target from the corner, with a comfortable header into the goalkeeper's hands.
A long ball from Akanji meets Haaland, trapping it well before laying off to Walker, who is bursting down the right.
The full-backs gets to the byline and hits a cross that Blaswich is forced to tip over the bar.
Great work from Grealish to flick the ball between two defenders and find Gundogan near the corner flag.
The winger looked trapped but used the magic he keeps in his huge calf muscles to find a way through. City are managing the ball well in the opening stages.
Andre Silva gets on the end of a pass that two City defenders thought left him offside. The striker collects the ball and bursts away on his own like a furiously excited prison escapee, but the linesman lifts his flag.
Mahrez whips in a free-kick from the left but Szoboszlai clears well.
Walker and Gundogan work the ball well down the right and the German hits a cross straight into Gvardiol's face. The poor lad is probably having flashbacks to when Messi twisted his blood in the World Cup.
It's the typically uber-narrow 4-2-2-2 for Leipzig, as expected.
City open the play on the left and the ball ends with Mahrez in the box but the Algerian gets it caught under his feet and can't find the space to drag his leg back and fire off the shot. Cleared away.
Guardiola has just gotten out of his seat in a very angry manner, something he has seen has annoyed him greatly.
Bernardo Silva just did a delightful turn away from Werner, causing me to make a small squeaking noise. I really hope nobody else heard.
Andre Silva gets in behind and leaves the ball to Szoboszlai, but his cross is poor from the right side and City manage to clear the danger.
Laimer wins the ball from Rodri and RB Leipzig have their first feel of the ball. Good pressure from Rose's side.
Gundogan slides the ball in towards Haaland but Blaswich collects.
OK, for now, Bernardo Silva is really in midfield.
It looks like Aké is at left-back in a 4-3-3, with Rodri as the deepest midfielder.
And Man City kick us off!
They're wearing their black and red kit; Leipzig are in all white.
"We're on the way to Istanbul", says the huge tifo from the home fans. Let's see of they can take the advantage back to Manchester...
Here's a final reminder of the two XIs::
RB Leipzig: Blaswich; Klostermann, Orban, Gvardiol, Halstenberg; Laimer, Schlager; Szoboszlai, Forsberg; Andre Silva, Werner.
Man City: Ederson; Walker, Akanji , Dias, Ake; Rodri, Bernardo, Gundogan; Mahrez, Grealish, Haaland.
The Champions League anthem is finished and the handshakes are done.
Time to flip the coin to see who's kicking off first...
What a noise!
The stadium is full to the brim this evening: the flags are flying and the sings are ringing out from the stands!
The players, meanwhile, are in the tunnel waiting for the green light to go out onto the pitch.
Ten minutes to go!
The players have just finished their warmups at the Red Bull Arena...
RONNY HARTMANN / AFP
Pep's got another record...
Pep Guardiola has the highest win percentage in the competition’s history of managers that have over 50 games in the competition.
He has won 97 of his 154 games: a 63% win rate.
Can he continue that tonight?
The warmups are well underway!
We've got around 20 minutes to go before the game kicks off!
Here are the starting XIs again:
RB Leipzig: Blaswich; Klostermann, Orban, Gvardiol, Halstenberg; Laimer, Schlager; Szoboszlai, Forsberg; Andre Silva, Werner.
Man City: Ederson; Walker, Akanji , Dias, Ake; Rodri, Bernardo, Gundogan; Mahrez, Grealish, Haaland.
Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
And the answer is...
Christopher Nkunku scored in the 42nd, 51st and 73rdminutes of the game, although Manchester kept scoring until they had 6...
Michael Steele / Getty Images
Pub quiz time!
Manchester City beat RB Leipzig 6-3 in the 21/22 season, with goals from Aké, Mukiele (og), Mahrez, Grealish, Cancelo and Gabriel Jesus.
But who scored a hat-trick fot RB Leipzig?
Send your answers to @English_AS on Twitter and the correct answers will be posted on the feed! You've got 10 minutes.
Manchester City have arrived!
We've got just under an hour to go before kick-off!
Make sure to tell us your prediction on Twitter, @English_AS.
Ian KIngton / AFP
Manchester City starting XI analysis:
It looks as though we've got a back 4 from Pep tonight, despite his recent experiments with a back 3 + Bernardo Silva.
Gundogan and Bernardo partner Rodri in the middle in a system that looks, on paper at least, quite recognisable and - dare I say it - normal. I think perhaps the loss of De Bruyne has forced Guardiola into reverting to a more typical 4-3-3.
Mahrez and Grealish are the duo on either side of Monster Boy, so that's City clearly looking to attack directly with dribbling instead of drifting into the middle line, which is something Foden might have done.
However, having said all that, Ederson might be up front. Who knows with Pep when it comes to the big games?
RB Leipzig starting XI!
Blaswich
Klostermann - Orban - Gvardiol - Halstenberg
Laimer - Schlager
Werner - Szoboszlai - Forsberg
Andre Silva
Manchester City team news!
Ederson
Walker - Akanji - Dias - Aké
Rodri - Gundogan - Bernardo
Mahrez - Haaland - Grealish
Of course you're going to stick with me and AS for the live coverage, but here's how you can follow the game on the TV or online, if that's your thing.
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And here's the likely starting XI for Man City.
We've got half an hour before the teams are announced, so if it's wrong, take it up with Kieran, not me!
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In case you missed it, or if you just want to relive the astonishing game again, here's the live coverage of yesterday's utterly mind-boggling game in the Champions League: Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid. I still can't get my head around it, to be honest.
Stuart Franklin / Getty
Pre-match stats:
- Manchester City have now failed to win four of their last five away matches in all competitions
- City are competing in the Champions League knockoutrounds for the 10th successive year
- Leipzig have lost their last 3 Champions League knockout games without scoring a single goal
- The last two fixtures between these sides have given us 12 goals
- Leipzig have only lost once since the World Cup, a 1-2 loss to Union Berlin
- RB Leipzig have played against Englishsides eight times in the Champions League, winning four and losing four.
Sofascore pre-match preview
Need I say more?
Take all the time in the world to sit open-mouthed at this fab graphic from Sofascore, which tells you just about every single thing you might ever need to know regarding the fixture.
Old acquaintances will meet again tonight...
I'm being very Haaland heavy right now but I'm just excited to get going!
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Want more Monster Boy? Here's Roddy with all of Haaland's goalscoring records in the Champions League.
It all started with a hat-trick on his Champions League debut, the equivalent of love at first sight for this creature. The goal-loving hasn't stopped since then.
Ed Sykes / Action Images via Reuters
Who to watch tonight?
Let’s be honest, here, it’s Erling Haaland. I want to see the monster boy.
Marco Rose was very honest in his pre-match comments on Haaland:
"If he sees the goal he is crazy about scoring. He is always there for the team, working for the team.
"He has improved his game a lot, his technical side, his movement and things around. Now he is playing for one of the best teams in the world and he is a world-classplayer.
"But I have great confidence in my team. We want to compete against one of the best teams in the world, see and look for opportunities."
Team news: Manchester City
As for City, Stones is the only long-term absence but they will be without both Aymeric Laporte and Kevin De Bruyne tonight as the pair are suffering from illness.
Guardiola has made at least one change to his defence in each of City’s last 11 matches in all competitions, so there’s no point me trying to guess who he’s going to go for tonight.
Bernardo Silva could start at left-back again for all I know.
Team news: RB Leipzig
Leipzig are without Gulasci (ACL), Olmo (thigh) and Diallo (knee), who are all out with short term injuries.
The good news is that they can count on Nkunku to come back, however, after he sustained an injury that kept him out for three months but was back from the bench last week, as wasLaimer.
Hello, hello!
Welcome to the other huge, juicy Champions League football match we’ve got for you this week!
It’s RB Leipzig vs Manchester City!
It’s Joe here today and I’ve got the pleasure of taking you through everything as it happens.
We already had Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid yesterday but remember that the football never stops. Never ever.