Manchester City will have to get their ticket to the quarter-finals at home on March 14. After showing great mastery in the first period of this round of 16 once morest Leipzig, Pep Guardiola’s players were jostled when they returned from the locker room to finally concede a draw which preserved the suspense (1-1). It was Josko Gvardiol who answered Riyad Mahrez for the Germans.
Erling Haaland and his family can blame themselves. While they seemed to be taking a good option on qualifying for the next round of the C1, the Mancunians were hooked by the fifth in the Bundesliga, who started the meeting without Christopher Nkunku, preserved because he was touched in training the day before game, and Mohamed Simakan. The residents of the Red Bull Arena, who gave voice to support his family, reacted well following a first act where they did not exist.
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Deprived of the ball (74% possession in the first period for City), unable to chain two passes in a row and author of their first shot of the match at the very end of the first act (45th + 2), the troop of Marco Rose is missed out on his early encounter. Without pressing or aggressiveness, the Germans saw the opposing waves run aground on their goal, until an error in recovery from Xaver Schlaer benefited Jack Grealish, whose perfect pass allowed Mahrez to deceive Janis Blaswich (0-1, 27th).
Without doubling the bet, the Sky Blues remained within reach of their opponents, who returned transformed from the locker room, like the good entry (46th) of the former Monegasque Benjamin Heinrichs. The right side first put his head above (53rd), before missing his shot on a golden opportunity (55th).
Ederson’s failure
While the Mancunian ship pitched, Haaland spent a very frustrating evening, still non-existent in the English game, and author of a missed right shot on his only goal situation (68th). By dint of retreating, City, which evolved without Kevin De Bruyne, sick, ended up being joined on an action where, in addition to the wait-and-see attitude of his defense on a corner, Ederson completely missed his aerial exit, allowing Gvardiol to score with a close header (1-1, 70th).
Pep Guardiola, he chose not to make any changes in this meeting, despite the presence of Julian Alvarez or Phil Foden on the bench. His team almost regained the advantage with a shot from Gundogan’s right, beautifully released by Blaswich (73rd). Everything is therefore still possible in this double confrontation, and the 2nd in the Premier League will have to make the difference in front of their public in three weeks to avoid a big disappointment.
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