Manchester City held 1-1 by Leipzig in last 16 of Champions League

Joko Gvardiol stifled the threat of Manchester City star Erling Haaland before scoring himself to earn Leipzig a 11 draw in the first leg of their roundof16 matchup in the Champions LeagueThe Croatia centre back nicknamed Little Pep because of the similarities of his last name with that of City manager Pep Guardiola headed home the equaliser in the 70th minute on Wednesday after Leipzig finally got to grips with the English championsCity dominated the first half without Haaland its top scorer getting a sight on goal and Riyad Mahrez netted the 27thminute opener after Ilkay Gundogan flicked through a pass from Jack GrealishAs Haaland grew frustrated in the second half City lost control of the game and Leipzig posed more of a threat creating the better of the chancesWhat do you expect that we are playing a friendly game here Guardiola said when asked why his team was unable to retain its domination into the second half How many games have you seen from Leipzig You expect us to come here and win 05 That is not a realityIt leaves the match in the balance heading into the second leg in Manchester on March 14 as City continues its bid for a first Champions League titleGuardiola conducted a minidebrief with his players on the field after the final whistle telling them to stay positive after seeing them throw away their advantage after a firsthalf performance that could have led to more than just Mahrezs 20th Champions League goalHaaland had only seven touches before halftime none of them coming in Leipzigs penalty area and he had only one opportunity in the whole match when he got free down the right midway through the second half and snatched at a shot that dribbled wideLeipzigs extra intensity and aggression paid off as the German team a Champions League semifinalist in 2020 finally showed why it had lost just one of its 20 previous matches in all competitionsAlso readManchester City beat Chelsea to close gap at topWe started to play to fight Leipzig coach Marco Rose saidReally different to the first half We were too passive in every situation We had no power In the second half we were the same level as City Better late than neverBenjamin Henrichs who came on as a halftime substitute sidefooted wide when he was one on one with goalkeeper Ederson who got down well to deny Andre SilvaHowever Ederson was left stranded when Marcel Halstenberg swung over a leftwing cross and 21yearold Gvardiol one of the best defenders at last years World Cup and among Europes most soughtafter young players got above Ruben Dias to nod the ball into an unguarded netThere was a bizarre incident in the final seconds when Mahrez curled a cross into the area and a header from City midfielder Rodri appeared to be punched away by Henrichs as he defended his body with both arms Citys players appealed for a penalty but the referee was unmovedWhen Leipzig last visited Citys Etihad Stadium it was routed 63 in a wild groupstage game in the Champions League last season Christopher Nkunku scored a hat trick for Leipzig on that night and the France striker came on as a substitute in the second half stepping up his sharpness after a left knee injury sustained in training in November just before flying out to the World CupNkunku might be fit to start the second leg when City should have Kevin De Bruyne available again The playmaker was absent on Wednesday because of an illnessThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever