Home » RB Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City – Champions League

RB Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City – Champions League

No winner emerged as Manchester City have drawn 1-1 against RB Leipzig in their Champions League round of 16 first leg clash in Germany.

RB Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City – Champions League round of 16 first leg ended as a tight at Red Bull Arena.

Riyad Mahrez scored the opener in the first half, but Croatia’s most-wanted-defender Josko Gvardiol earned a share of the spoils with a thumping header after 70 minutes.

Top fixtures to watch: European competitions return

Check out for M88 Mansion best offers here.

Check out for more sports update here.

RB Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City – Game Highlights

Pep Guardiola was forced to rest Kevin de Bruyne and John Stones for ‘illness’, as revealed by the Spanish manager ahead of the game.

But Man City still piled the pressure on in the first half, with Mahrez’s goal at the 27th-minute to claim them the lead.

Ilkay Gundogan punished Xaver Schlager’s pass which was wayward, as the City’s midfielder found Mahrez. The Algerian striker fired into the bottom-right corner from outside the area.

This is Mahrez’s 20th goal in the UCL for Man City, as he became only the fifth African player in the tournament’s history to do so.

20 – Riyad Mahrez is the fifth African player to score 20 Champions League goals, after Mohamed Salah (44), Didier Drogba (44), Samuel Eto'o (30) and Sadio Mané (27). Greats. pic.twitter.com/f9mwFxkemE

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 22, 2023

Rodri and Jack Grealish tried their lucks later but they went wide, Leipzig was fortunate to go in the half-time break just a goal down.

The home team improved after the break and the deserved equaliser finally came, after chances wasted by Henrichs and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Gvardiol leaped to deliver a thunderous header salvaged a 1-1 home draw as Leipzig equalized. Man City appealed for a foul from the centre-back on Ruben Diaz upon the jump, but it was in vain as the referee let the game carry on with the restart from the starting point.

Gundogan pulled a fine finish but denied by Blaswich, as the draw would bring it all to England to settle the winner.

Neutralized Erling Haaland

Scored six goals against Leipzig in his former kit Borussia Dortmund, but this time, Haaland was silent for the whole game.

Gvardiol and Wili Orban limited the striker to no shots on target.

Another struggling game for Man City in the UCL

Man City has been always struggling despite facing unmatched opponents in the knockout stages, with this happened against Monaco, Tottenham and Lyon in the past seasons.

However, with Kevin de Bruyne’s return next month, the Premier League side is hoping to settle the score at Etihad.

Notable stats

• Guardiola didn’t make a single substitution in this match – City are the first side to do so in a Champions League match since Manchester United against Juventus in October 2018 under Jose Mourinho.
• Gvardiol has scored in consecutive home matches for Leipzig in the Champions League, against Real Madrid and City. No player has scored more goals at the Red Bull Arena in the competition this season than the Croatian (2)
• Mahrez became the fifth African player to score 20+ goals in the Champions League, after Mohamed Salah (44), Didier Drogba (44), Samuel Eto’o (30) and Sadio Mane (27).
• The Algerian has been directly involved in 12 goals (8 goals, 4 assists) in all competitions since the conclusion of the World Cup; the only Premier League player with more combined goals and assists during this period is Marcus Rashford (16 goals, 4 assists).

Next up for Leipzig and Man City

Both teams will return to local league after the clash, with Pep’s side set to face Bournemouth in the Premier League, while Leipzig facing Frankfurt in Bundesliga.

In less then a month, Man City will host Leipzig at Etihad for the second leg of Champions League round of 16.