RB Leipzig deservedly lost to Manchester City in the Champions League. The 1:3 (0:1) defeat on Wednesday (October 4th, 2023) was primarily the result of a very anxious style of play.
Lois Openda took advantage of one of Leipzig’s only two good chances to equalize (47′), but his fifth goal in the tenth competitive game for RB was not enough to win the point. Phil Foden had previously scored the 1-0 for Manchester (25th), Julian Alvarez (84th) ensured the preliminary decision in favor of the triple winner with a remarkable goal, Jeremy Doku (90th + 2) ended Leipzig’s last hopes.
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“Of course we would have liked to keep points in Leipzig,” said Lukas Klostermann. “But we knew that we were playing against a very strong team, but we actually kept the game open for a long time – that’s why we felt a little bit more was possible. But perhaps we could have been a little more determined in one situation or another must.”
Manchester dominates in all respects
If there was a need for an object lesson in what the common football phrase “picking up an opponent” means, it was there in the early stages of Manchester. For 13 minutes, coach Pep Guardiola’s team almost exclusively had the ball; whenever Leipzig captured it, it was gone again within a few seconds. But the RB penalty area was not in danger – but that suddenly changed.
Bernardo Silva missed City’s first chance and it was 100 percent. Foden missed a shot, but it became the perfect template for the Portuguese – but instead of pushing the ball over the line from two meters unchallenged, he missed it (14th). Foden also failed with his next attempt, but this time his right-footed shot went just a meter past the RB goal (19th).
The England international lacked precision in his first two shots, but he hit the target with his next shot. A little later, after a strong attack on the right side, Rico Lewis again served Foden, who again finished with his right foot, but this time he hit the right corner from his position, unstoppable for Janis Blaswich, to make it a well-deserved 1-0 for Manchester (25. ).
Leipzig without possession of the ball and without danger
The “Citizens” had over 80 percent possession of the ball in the first 30 minutes before they left the game to Leipzig for a bit. The scene that perhaps most demonstrated the one-sidedness of this game in the first half was the only RB shot on goal. Lois Openda only gave it in the 44th minute and was so harmless that the corner created by Ruben Dias’ block was the optimal result. The same applied to the fact that Leipzig went into the locker room with a score of 0-1.
What didn’t suit RB at all: Marco Rose’s team acted extremely passively, stood very deep and refrained from the dreaded pressing. Manchester was allowed to let the ball run through its own ranks quite undisturbed. With such a fearful performance in the second half, the only remaining question would be how much Leipzig would lose this game.
Openda hits out of nowhere
And it only took 150 seconds before the Bundesliga club showed that the English treble winners are vulnerable if they challenge them. For the first time, RB played a counterattack properly, Yussuf Poulsen sent Openda straight, who, like last weekend against FC Bayern (2:2), asserted himself physically and pushed the ball precisely into the goal at the inside post (48th). The quick and lucky 1:1.
City had lost the last two games in England against Newcastle United (in the Carabao Cup) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (in the league) – and even now it was clear that the defending champions are currently struggling with some problems. Guardiola had recently commented several times how much injuries like Kevin de Bruyne’s are affecting the team.
Even Erling Haaland couldn’t do it, which is otherwise a simple exercise for him. After a sharp cross from Foden, the exceptional striker finished, but missed the opponent’s goal from a few meters (57th).
Haaland continues to fail, but then comes Alvarez
However, RB failed to build up pressure themselves and thus gave the guests the opportunity to get back into the game better. The “Citizens” increasingly dominated the game again and had further chances.
And then a world champion joker redeemed the favorite. Alvarez shot the ball from the edge of the penalty area into the far corner to make it 2-1 – although the ball was slightly deflected, it was still a brilliant performance from the Argentine (84th).
Now Leipzig had nothing left to lose and switched to attack mode. Christoph Baumgartner missed the second good opportunity for RB from 20 meters, his shot attempt just missed the corner of the City goal (86th). Then Manchester took advantage of the opponent’s offensive urge and Doku, who was also a substitute, decided the game 3-1 (90th + 2).
