In the early hours of Thursday morning (23rd), English Premier League giants Manchester City drew 1-1 with RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie away from home. The two sides each played a half-court game, but City could have equalized with a 12-yard penalty late in the game, but the referee and VAR system turned a blind eye to an extremely obvious handball in the penalty area, a move that sparked widespread skepticism and dissatisfaction. After this "Blue Moon" defeat, the Premier League's four teams in the first round of the round of 16 in the first round of the winless, slightly embarrassing.
In the first half of the match, City showed a strong desire to attack, and in the 27th minute, Marius took a fine pass from Gundogan and scored inside the penalty area to take a 1-0 lead. In the first half, City dominated the match with 74% possession and 94.6% pass success rate. However, the situation changed in the second half as RB Leipzig came back to dominate the match, and in the 70th minute, Gavadore scored a header from a corner kick, making the match 1-1.
In the last two minutes of extra time, a controversial incident occurred, Lodi Kasjandi header in the penalty area, Henrichs arms blocked the ball, but the referee and VAR did not make a penalty, the game was then ended, the penalty provoked the City players strongly protested. TV commentator Rio Ferdinand said: "It was definitely a handball, Henriquez tried to push the ball away, and the reaction of the City players spoke for itself."
Despite the UEFA having a VAR system, the referee in charge did not review it. Former Premier League referee Wootton revealed, "I have a screen linked to UEFA to view VAR's judgments and I'm surprised they didn't look at this handball incident." As for City leader Gordiona, he said, "I couldn't see it so I can't comment on it, but I know what happens in these situations."
Manchester City will play at home in the second round, the promotion situation is still favorable, but after this draw, the Premier League four teams in the first round of the first round of the round of 16 first round all failed to win, Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 defeat AC Milan, Chelsea 0-1 loss to Dormont, Liverpool is 2-5 defeat at the feet of Real Madrid, Manchester City draw has revealed the strongest of the Premier League state.
