The duel between Guardiola and Guardiola ended in a draw. Leipzig got a decent result for the rematch with the Citizens

On the last matchday of the first two matches of the Champions League semi-finals, RB Leipzig and Manchester City clashed in one of two games. The visitors were much better in the first half and deservedly went into the lead, but after the change of sides Leipzig equalised the pace and also the score.

Pep Guardiola had to cope without Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte. Even so, he fielded a strong line-up that dominated the game from the start. Citizens kept the ball much more on the ball, Leipzig wanted to threaten from quick breaks, but they were not very successful.

The home side looked almost nervous and had trouble putting more passes in succession. So the Citizens turned a big game advantage into a goal. However, Leipzig almost gifted their opponents the goal they scored.

Xaver Schlager did not pass accurately in his own half, Grealish intercepted his pass and pushed the ball to Gündogan. The latter let the ball pass between his legs in a duel with Guardiola, found Riyad Mahrez on the edge of the box and opened the scoring with a shot towards the bar.

After the first half, the Citizens went into the booths with 74% ball possession, leading 7-1 on shots. They had the game firmly in their hands, but Leipzig were really softened up after the change of sides.

The home side sent several warnings towards Ederson’s goal. In the 55th minute, Andre Silva called on Benjamin Henrichs to score, but his shot went just past the bar. In the 64th minute, Andre Silva raced down the left flank again and tried to outmuscle Ederson, but he caught his attempt from an angle.

In the 69th minute, Dominik Szoboszlai fired a shot, but the Brazilian goalkeeper stopped it. But he practically delayed the home team’s joy for only a moment.

Marcel Halstenberg sent the ensuing corner accurately to the head of Joško Guardiola, who directed his header into the net to level the match at 1-1.

A few minutes later Citizens could have taken the lead back, but Gündogan’s attempt was stopped by Blaswich with a great save. Nothing more happened and Leipzig will take a fairly solid result into the rematch.

Source: UEFA