RB Leipzig went ahead through Dominik Szoboszlai half way through the first half before Andre Silva doubled the lead in the 71st minute and Riyad Mahrez pulled one back for Manchester City.
Follow Us
Manchester City went to Leipzig having already secured qualification to the knockout stage of Champions League as Group A winners. Therefore Pep Guardiola made seven changes for the trip to Germany, with the game played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions. RB Leipzig went ahead through Dominik Szoboszlai half way through the first half before Andre Silva doubled the lead after the break. Although Riyad Mahrez pulled one back for City it proved to be just a consolation goal. Meanwhile the visitors finished the match with 10 man as Kyle Walker was sent off for a reckless foul on Silva.
Leipzig were playing for a Europa League spot and wanted to better Club Brugge’s result in Paris. The German side came out with a positive attitude and took the lead in the 24th minute. Konrad Laimer released Szoboszlai through on goal with a brilliant pass and the Hungarian footballer raced past John stones before rounding off the oncoming Jack Stephen and slotting home into an open net.
Seven minutes before the break, the hosts could have doubled their lead but Stephen made a superb save to deny Silva from close range. Christopher Nkunku delivered a deep cross from the right and Szoboszali nodded it back into the danger zone for Silva, whose header was denied by Stephen’s sensational reaction save.
Surprisingly, it took Guardiola’s side 40 minutes to test the Leipzig goalkeeper. Phil Foden’s attempt was gazed onto the post by Peter Gulacsi, before the 31-year-old custodian kept out a dangerous Kevin de Bruyne free kick.
Leipzig continued to play better football and doubled their lead in the 71st minute. A Sloppy pass by Stones allowed Emil Forsberg to regain the ball possession. The Swedish midfielder cut inside from the left and squared the ball for Silva inside the box. The Portuguese forward drove the ball into the bottom corner with a sweet right-foot strike.
But City halved the deficit five minutes later. Left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko sent in a brilliant, teasing cross which found Mahrez at the back post. The Algerian stooped low to head the ball into the far corner. Meanwhile City’s hopes of a comeback diminished after a moment of madness from Walker.
The English defender kicked on Silva’s heels from the back, the 26-year-old forward jumped straight up afterwards and into Walker’s face, before both sets of players surrounded the referee. Sandro Scharer rightly showed a straight red card to the City defender in the 82nd minute.
Leipzig held on to the slender lead and secured all three points to keep themselves alive in Europe.
Pep Guardiola said after the match, “The first half, we lacked a little bit of rhythm… They have a really good team, we knew it from before the group stage. But the second half was much better, but unfortunately, one or two mistakes and they punished us.
“We played better in the second half. We were more aggressive, we played to win the game and we lost it. Congratulations to Leipzig.
“We made an incredible group stage, we qualified with one game left in a tough group. I am more than satisfied with the performance in every single game and in February, hopefully we can arrive in the best condition possible.
“Nathan [Ake] has a problem with his back, we will see tomorrow. Phil [Foden] had problems in the beginning of the game with his ankle, he struggled a little bit. As a precaution, I decided to put Raheem in his position.”
RB Leipzig interim manager Achim Beierlorzer said, “We had to show a reaction. This game was perfect for us because we proved something.
“We took chances and could have had more. We beat one of the best sides in the world. It is a pity there were no fans here but we did a great job. It was a highly-deserved win.”
