RB Leipzig 2-1 Man City (Szoboszlai 24′, Silva 71′ | Mahrez 76′)
Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Andre Silva condemned Manchester City to a rare Champions League group stage defeat in Leipzig in a game that also saw Kyle Walker shown a straight red card late on.
With City safely through as group winners and RB Leipzig already eliminated – and after the first half of PSG’s game against Club Brugge virtually assured a Europa League place – this was always unlikely to be a vintage European night. Even more so considering no fans were allowed inside the Red Bull Arena due to lockdown measures imposed by the local government in Saxony.
That Pep Guardiola opted to make seven changes from Saturday’s win over Watford, adding to the anti-climactic feel of the occasion. Perhaps understandably given the circumstances, City lacked their usual intensity and found themselves 1-0 down after 24 minutes when Szoboszlai rounded Zack Steffen to score after being sent clean through on goal by Konrad Laimer’s raking outside-of-the-boot pass.
City were indebted to their backup goalkeeper two minutes later as he made an unconventional stop down to his right to keep out a well-struck Emil Forsberg effort after Silva had broken a poorly executed offside trap. Steffen then denied a Silva header from point-blank range, before Phil Foden hit the post after a swift City counter-attack.
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Riyad Mahrez brought City back into the game with a stooping header at the back post but their hopes of salvaging a point or more from the game suffered a blow when Walker was sent off eight minutes from time for stupidly kicking out at Silva.
Here are how City’s players rated on what was a forgettable evening all round.
Man City player ratings
Zack Steffen: Kept much busier than a City goalkeeper can usually expect to be, denying Laimer at 0-0 and then Forsberg and Silva later on in the first half after Szoboszlai’s opener 7
Kyle Walker: Played Szoboszlai onside for the goal and seemed to lack sharpness and focus throughout the game. Sent off late on for kicking out wildly at Silva by the touchline 3
John Stones: Punished for a slack pass to Fernandinho on the halfway line that resulted in Silva firing Leipzig two in front. Never looks as assured without Ruben Dias next to him 4
Nathan Ake: Passed the ball out of from the back well enough but is a notable downgrade to Aymeric Laporte in the left-sided centre-back role 4
Oleksandr Zinchenko: Caught out of position a couple of times when Leipzig were in the ascendancy, but whipped in a sublime cross for Mahrez’s goal 5
Fernandinho: For so long the brain and engine of City’s midfield, Fernandinho seemed to struggle with the pace of the game. It is a testament to Rodri’s evolution this season that he was sorely missed 5
Kevin De Bruyne: Wasted what was by his sky-high standards a decent opportunity to score at 0-0 when skewing a half-volley over the bar. Drew a fine save from Gulacsi with a pinpoint free-kick just before half-time and flashed an effort just wide late on 6
Ilkay Gundogan: Back in the side after missing the Watford win due to a knock, Gundogan was less influential than usual in City’s engine room, perhaps due to the presence of De Bruyne alongside him 6
Riyad Mahrez: On the periphery of the game for the most part until scoring a rare headed goal to drag his side back into the contest 6
Jack Grealish: Another frustrating game for City’s record signing. Looked to have fashioned a chance for himself to equalise only to see his shot squirm just wide after a deflection in the closing stages 5
Phil Foden: Rattled the far post with a trademark low shot from the left-hand side of the box that required a fingertip stop from Gulacsi. Replaced at half-time by Sterling 5
Subs:
Raheem Sterling: Added an injection of pace and directness into City’s play following a largely pedestrian first-half performance. Less effective after being shifted into a centre-forward role 5
Cole Palmer: Brought on too late to make an impact N/A
Ruben Dias: Replaced Ake in the final moments N/A
Guardiola: They punished our mistakes
“We played better in the second half, more aggressive, we played to win the game and we lost it so congratulations to Leipzig,” Guardiola said.
“In the first half we lacked rhythm, we had problems to contact and they had a really good team, we knew before group stage but second half much better.
“Unfortunately we were punished with one or two mistakes.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3pDGpra
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