Jonathan Liew's match report
No word from Pep Guardiola, as BT Sport switch their attention to the Milan-Liverpool game. Shall we follow their lead? Why not. Simon Burnton is but a click away. Thanks for reading this MBM!
The other match in Group A has finished PSG 4-1 Bruges. This is how it all came down in the end. City and PSG are in the knockouts, Leipzig will take a tilt at the Europa League, and Bruges can concentrate on chasing down Union SG in the Belgian First Division.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 6 | 8 | 12 |
| 2 | PSG | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 3 | RB Leipzig | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 4 | Club Brugge | 6 | -14 | 4 |
FULL TIME: RB Leipzig 2-1 Manchester City
City end Group A with a defeat, but they win the group anyway. Leipzig make it to the Europa League. Leipzig are very pleased with this result. They deserve the win.
90 min +2: Fernandinho releases Sterling down the left, but he’s offside. That could be that.
90 min +1: Adams is fouled for a clip on Grealish’s ankles. Grealish springs up, ready to go for a second, but thinks better of it. Zinchenko takes the free kick, Gulasci claims, and the keeper is obstructed as he tries to kick clear. A free kick for Leipzig, and a chance for the hosts to run some of the clock down.
90 min: There will be three minutes for City to salvage a draw.
88 min: Simakan goes down, then takes a knee on the temple from Sterling. I don’t think Sterling meant to do that, and the referee agrees. It certainly wasn’t Ben Godfrey on Takehiro Tomiyasu, put it that way.
87 min: That’s De Bruyne’s last act this evening. He’s replaced by Cole Palmer, while Ake, who was feeling the small of his back, makes way for Dias. Meanwhile Ilaix Moriba replaces Andre Silva.
86 min: De Bruyne nearly equalises with a sensational shot, cutting in from the left and curling powerfully towards the top right. Just wide.
84 min: Walker was having a poor match anyway, but that put the tin lid on it. One thing to his credit: he didn’t bother arguing about the decision, and went off down the tunnel slightly sheepishly.
RED CARD: Walker (Manchester City)
82 min: Wahey! It all kicks off! Szoboszlai dribbles down the left. Walker takes a ludicrous wild swipe at the back of his legs. Szoboszlai springs up and the pair go nose to nose. The referee calms everyone down, then sends Walker packing. What a preposterously daft thing to do. He’ll now miss the first knockout game.
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81 min: City claim a corner for some reason or other. It’s not important, because Mahrez was miles offside. Stones is then booked for arguing the toss with the referee.
80 min: Mukiele is then replaced by Benjamin Henrichs. When the game restarts, Grealish sends a low shot through a crowded box, the ball nearly deflecting into the bottom right. Just wide. Corner.
79 min: Forsberg hoofs a speculative effort miles over the bar. It’s his last act of the evening, as he’s replaced by Brian Brobbey.
78 min: PSG have reestablished their three-goal cushion over Bruges. Lionel Messi has scored his second of the match, this time from the penalty spot, and the 2020 finalists are 4-1 up.
GOAL! RB Leipzig 2-1 Manchester City (Mahrez 76)
City aren’t getting the penalty. Strange decision. But no matter! The resulting corner is cleared, but Zinchenko comes back at the hosts down the left and crosses deep. Mahrez stoops at the far post and steers a fine header into the bottom right. City aren’t giving this up, even though it makes little difference to them.
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75 min: De Bruyne wedges a cross in from the left. Mahrez, at the far post, knocks it back for Sterling, who looks to be bundled over from behind by Gvardiol. Play goes on, and Fernandinho’s shot from ten yards is deflected over for a corner. He should have scored, though City want a penalty and VAR will take a look.
73 min: Bruges have got one back against PSG, though Mats Rits, but they’re still 3-1 down and heading out of Europe.
GOAL! RB Leipzig 2-0 Manchester City (Silva 71)
Stones is caught in possession. Forsburg romps down the left, reaches the City box, and rolls across for Silva, who takes a touch and fizzes a forensic daisycutter into the bottom right, Steffen left with no chance. A crisp counter, and what a finish!
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70 min: Leipzig play keepball for a minute or so ... then suddenly get slack, losing possession, Gundogan sending Grealish clear down the middle! But Steffen reads the danger and races out of his box to hoick clear.
68 min: Leipzig repeat the carry-on of 62 min.
66 min: Grealish shows again on the left, this time winning a corner off Mukiele. The corner’s played back to Walker, whose diagonal finds Mahrez on the right ... but up goes that flag again for another offside.
64 min: Grealish embarks on another run down the left, finding Gundogan again with a cutback. But up goes the flag, Grealish having gone far too early at the start of the move.
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63 min: Leipzig make their second change, replacing Konrad Laimer with Tyler Adams.
62 min: It’s Leipzig’s turn to stroke it around the back in a slightly listless fashion.
60 min: Forsberg’s speculative hook goalwards deflects off Fernandinho and out for a Leipzig corner on the right. Ake heads the set piece clear, and soon enough the ball’s back on the halfway line. Thrills are at a premium right now.
59 min: Grealish dribbles down the left and cuts back for Gundogan, who opens his body and tries to pass into the bottom right. His effort is blocked the second it comes off his boot.
58 min: City pass it around in a very sterile, slow-paced style. Leipzig are more than happy with this state of affairs.
56 min: Zinchenko crosses from the left and finds Mahrez free, 12 yards out but facing the wrong way. Mahrez can’t turn, then the flag goes up for offside anyway. City are getting a little frustrated.
55 min: Fernandinho drops deep and curls in from the right. He’s got Gundogan free on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, but the cross is too weighty and out it flies for a goal kick.
53 min: Nkunku pearls a diagonal pass towards Angelino on the left. Angelino volleys a cross but can’t find a team-mate. City clear after a quick game of pinball.
51 min: De Bruyne’s delivery is again poor. Coming back from Covid as he is, his manager will cut him plenty of slack.
50 min: Fernandinho nearly releases Sterling down the middle, but the pass pushes his team-mate wide left. No matter, because Sterling purchases a cheap free kick off a clumsy Muklele, just to the side of the box.
48 min: De Bruyne flips a weak free kick straight into the Leipzig wall. His delivery tonight has been poor by his own supersonic standards.
47 min: Gundogan runs at Gvardiol and is crudely upended just to the left of the D. That could easily have been a booking; it is a free kick, though. De Bruyne likes the look of this.
46 min: City launch it long, and Sterling nearly makes it into the Leipzig box within the first 30 seconds of his arrival. He’s overly forceful, though, and the whistle goes.
City get the second half underway. Both teams have made a change: Raheem Sterling has replaced Phil Foden, while Lukas Klostermann makes way for Mohamed Simakan.
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HALF TIME: RBG Leipzig 1-0 Manchester City
After two seconds of added time, the referee brings the first half to an end. That took a wee while to get going, but once everyone warmed up, it was great fun. Both teams have looked very lively in attack; it’s easy to see how the corresponding fixture in Manchester ended 6-3. More, please!
44 min: De Bruyne whips the free kick towards the top left. It’s well hit, but not tight in the corner, and an easy reach for Gulasci, who makes a save for the cameras.
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43 min: Mahrez is tugged back by Gvardiol, and this is a free kick in a dangerous position, 25 yards out, just to the left of centre. De Bruyne’s eyes light up.
42 min: PSG have scored a third against Bruges, Lionel Messi on the scoresheet for once. Leipzig’s place in the Europa League knockout stage is pretty much in the bag.
41 min: Foden, stretching down the left, reaches the edge of the box and creams a low diagonal drive across Gulasci and towards the bottom right. It’s heading in, but turned onto the base of the post by the keeper. Great save! The hosts clear.
39 min: Nkunku crosses from the right. Szoboszlai rises at the far post, and cushions a header back across goal for Silva, who must score ... but doesn’t, his close-range header flying straight at Steffen, who parries spectacularly. What a save!
38 min: Angelino scoops a pass down the left and nearly releases Kampl. Ake is across quickly to cover.
36 min: Another City corner, forced by the presence of Foden and Grealish down the left. Ake meets this one too, sending it harmlessly over the bar.
35 min: A long ball down the middle panics Muklele into the concession of a corner, an aimless header clanked out of play from 30 yards. Ake can’t get his header on target from the resulting set piece.
33 min: Forsberg tries to release the goalscorer Szoboszlai down the middle again. Walker needs to reach top speed to stop Szoboszlai tearing clear. That’s great last-ditch defending, because for a split second it looked like Szoboszlai was away.
31 min: De Bruyne, steam coming out of his ears, slams a wild free kick wide left of goal.
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30 min: Zinchenko cuts in from the left and is tugged back by Nkunku, who is lucky not to go in the book. De Bruyne sees yellow, though, punished for taking a quick free kick, contrary to the referee’s orders. A bit off, but that’s officialdom for you.
28 min: City were ripped apart twice in two minutes there. Most uncharacteristic behaviour. It’s fairly clear this means more to Leipzig right now. No jeopardy for City.
26 min: Leipzig should be two up. Laimer romps into acres down the right and cuts back for Forsberg, 12 yards out. Forsberg slams his first-time shot straight at Steffen, who saves well, though he should never have been given the chance. The ball rebounds onto Forsberg’s arm and it’s a pressure-releasing free kick.
GOAL! RB Leipzig 1-0 Manchester City (Szoboszlai 24)
Leipzig take the lead in the most simple fashion! Szoboszlai is sent clear down the middle with a lovely outside-of-the-boot pass from deep by Laimer. He rounds Steffen to the left, before rolling into the empty net. So simple, but a lovely goal nonetheless.
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22 min: Grealish, who missed a fair few chances at Watford on Saturday evening, leans back and blazes over from 12 yards. Ah, to be fair, that took a slight deflection. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
21 min: Both keepers are forced into action in short order. First Steffen gets down to smother at the feet of Silva, then down the other end, Gulasci gets down to stop a right-wing cross reaching Grealish, who would have otherwise been presented with a tap-in.
19 min: Good news for Leipzig, as PSG are already two up against Bruges, Kylian Mbappe with both goals. Europa League football in the new year looks almost certain now, unless they somehow manage to lose this one by 14 goals or more.
17 min: Mahrez dinks a pass down the inside-right channel for Gundogan, who chests down for De Bruyne. A rising shot, meant for the top left, beats Gulasci but pings off the top of the crossbar. After a sluggish start, both teams have woken up.
16 min: Nothing comes from the corner.
15 min: Laimer busts into the City box down the right and attempts to find Silva in the middle with a cheeky back-flick. That’s blocked, but rebounds back to him, and Laimer flashes an instant low snapshot towards the bottom right from a tight angle. Steffen does extremely well to turn it round the post. That was sneaking in.
14 min: De Bruyne turns on the jets to burst between Silva and Kampl, and is cynically brought down by the latter, who is booked for his trouble.
13 min: A free kick for City out on the left. De Bruyne takes. Klostermann clears easily enough. A low-key return to the first XI for De Bruyne so far.
11 min: This is a bit better, as Mahrez, deep on the right, slips De Bruyne into acres of space further up the flank. De Bruyne’s radar is still to warm up; this attempt to find Grealish in the middle doesn’t beat the first man.
10 min: The training-ground acoustics have a game to match. There is almost nothing going on.
8 min: Yelps echo around the arena. The thud of the ball. We miss the crowd.
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6 min: It’s a fairly low-key start. Not a great deal going on, with an eerie soundtrack to match.
4 min: Laimer bursts down the inside-right channel and nearly makes it to the City box. Not quite, but that’s Leipzig’s first thrust of the evening.
3 min: One corner leads to another, and the second take is no good, De Bruyne hoicking an aimless cross out of play for a goal kick.
2 min: A poor Gulasci clearance allows City to launch their first attack. Mahrez enters the box down the right and looks for Grealish in the middle, but his cross fails to beat the first man. City come again, though, Foden forcing the first corner down the left.
Leipzig get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes the knee. There’s no room for racism.
The teams are out! Leipzig wear red-and-white swirls, while City sport that absurd third-choice MAN CITY strip foisted on them by Puma. The hosts are under new management, incidentally, Jesse Marsch having been shown the door on Sunday after a third Bundesliga defeat in a row. His assistant Achim Beierlorzer will take temporary charge. No crowd due to local Covid restrictions. We’ll be off in a minute.
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Pep Talks (part two, courtesy of BT Sport). “We have a really good team, everyone deserves to play. A few players who have stayed in Manchester have played a lot of minutes in the last month, they have done their job so they can rest. This is not an opportunity to experiment. They will play gegenpressing. We will try to play in our style. If we play in their rhythm it will be difficult.” He also says he’s not sure how long Kevin De Bruyne will last tonight, as he doesn’t “know the consequences” of his bout of Covid.
Pep Talks (part one in a two-part series).
Nostalgia Corner. This is what happened when the teams met at the Etihad in September. More, please!
Manchester City welcome back Kevin De Bruyne to their starting line up. He’s one of seven changes to the starting XI following the 3-1 win at Watford. Fernandinho, Riyad Mahrez, Zack Steffen, John Stones, Nathan Ake and Oleksandr Zinchenko also step up, with only Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish retaining their places. Aymeric Laporte, Joao Cancelo, Rodri and Bernardo Silva sit this one out completely, while Ederson, Ruben Dias and Raheem Sterling join a youthful bench that features Cole Palmer, James McAtee, Romeo Lavia, Joshua Wilson-Esbrand and Conrad Egan-Riley.
The teams
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi, Mukiele, Klostermann, Gvardiol, Angelino, Kampl, Laimer, Nkunku, Szoboszlai, Forsberg, Andre Silva.
Subs: Simakan, Adams, Brobbey, Moriba, Martinez, Bonnah, Henrichs.
Manchester City: Steffen, Walker, Stones, Ake, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Grealish, Foden.
Subs: Dias, Sterling, Ederson, Carson, Egan-Riley, Palmer, McAtee, Lavia, Wilson-Esbrand.
Referee: Sandro Scharer (Switzerland).
Preamble
Manchester City are already through to the knockout stage as Group A winners. What happens in Leipzig tonight matters very little to them ... but it could mean the world to the hosts, who will miss out on Europa League football in the new year should Bruges get a better result in Paris. City will make changes, though one of them will be Kevin De Bruyne, so Leipzig won’t be getting a free pass to make merry. Kick off at the Red Bull Arena is at 5.45pm GMT. It’s on!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 5 | 9 | 12 |
| 2 | PSG | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | RB Leipzig | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Club Brugge | 5 | -11 | 4 |
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