in the near future
Manchester City
The performance was a rollercoaster, first defeating the
Arsenal (name)
The matchup between the two sides, followed by a draw at Nottingham Forest, saw Guardiola's tactical layout stand out in this matchup.
At the whistle, both teams were cautious. Leipzig took a defensive stance, limiting their pressure on City's possession to pressing rather than direct tackling, and their tight formation barely showed any signs of breaking. City focused on the right side of the pitch, with Walker as the lone hero and Mahrez at his side, but the attack did not bear fruit in the first half.
Haaland was in poor form, with few shots throughout the game, and failed to assist his team in possession. City's overall lack of motivation and sparse ball-less running was evident in the lack of activity against Leipzig's tight defense.
However, in the 26th minute, Leipzig misplaced a pass at the back, which was quickly intercepted by Grealish, who passed the ball to Mahrez, who quickly broke into the box and scored. City used this good opportunity to break the deadlock and force Leipzig to turn to offense.
In the second half, Leipzig put more emphasis on attacking from the left, with Werner becoming a threat and Henrichs going close. City scored in the 70th minute through a corner kick opportunity with a header by Gvardiol, but Leipzig did not give up and tried to replace their attacking players to grab points, and the two teams ended up with a 1-1 draw.
City's problem lies in the lack of running of the whole team, the lack of pivot role of the strikers and the slow support between players. Against Leipzig's solid defense, they looked out of their depth for most of the game, and the second leg is expected to be even more intense.
