harmless, Manchester City held in check on the lawn of Leipzig

After Real Madrid’s attacking festival on the lawn of Liverpool (5-2) and the nice blow of Naples in Frankfurt (2-0), Tuesday, the last evening of the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League was much less spectacular , Wednesday, February 22. In numerical superiority for a quarter of an hour after the expulsion of Otavio, Inter Milan ensured the essential at home against Porto thanks to a goal from Lukaku in the last minutes (1-0).

In the other meeting of the day, Erling Haaland and Manchester City were eagerly awaited. Pep Guardiola’s men, favorites for the final victory in the Champions League, failed to get the better of RB Leipzig (1-1) after a very lackluster performance. Not very dangerous in front of Janis Blaswich’s goal (3 shots on target), they took advantage of a timorous German formation in the first act and a high recovery from Jack Grealish to open the scoring, thanks to Riyad Mahrez (0-1; 27th).

Haaland isolated, Manchester City without ideas

Inoffensive in the first period (1 shot on goal), RB Leipzig returned with other intentions after the break, delivering heavy pressure in the opposing half. The German club was rewarded for its efforts with a goal from Croatian hopeful Josko Gvardiol, who flew very high from a corner to equalize (1-1; 70th). Opposite, Manchester City has not found solutions. Symbol of the paradox of his season, Erling Haaland had a particularly delicate evening with a single shot, off target, and 22 balls hit. A situation which did not, however, encourage Pep Guardiola to change his men on the lawn. The Spanish technician will have to find solutions for his team to show something else in the return match.