Pep Guardiola expressed pride in his team’s determination to turn what seemed like a definite loss into a late win after Manchester City fell behind 2-0 at half-time. However, he was not as pleased with their overall performance.
Guardiola made a brilliant move by bringing in Julián Álvarez and Jérémy Doku in the second half. Both players were crucial, with Álvarez scoring the winning goal after a skillful display from Doku and an assist from Phil Foden.
The previous occasion that City trailed by two goals at halftime on their home field was in January against Tottenham in the Premier League. However, Guardiola’s team managed to score four consecutive goals and afterward, he praised his players and the entire club, calling them “happy flowers”. This positive attitude resulted in a triumphant season, winning three major titles. Tonight, their goal was to secure the top spot in Group G, which they achieved with this victory. Despite extending their unbeaten streak to 29 games in Europe at this venue, the manager acknowledged a peculiarly disjointed performance.
Guardiola expressed gratitude for the team’s luck in their recent match. He noted that this was the second time they had been given a warning, the first being during their game against Chelsea where they drew 4-4. He acknowledged that their performance had been lacking, particularly in winning duels. While their perfect record of 15 points out of 15 in the qualification round was commendable, Guardiola felt that there was room for improvement in their overall gameplay. He admitted to initially having doubts about a potential comeback, given their performance in the first half. He emphasized the need to earn their victories, regardless of their reputation as Manchester City and previous Champions League winners.
Manuel Akanji was responsible for the first pivotal duel lost. He failed to prevent the ball from bouncing to Loïs Openda after it was punted by goalkeeper Janis Blaswich, allowing him to score and give Stefan Ortega the opening goal.
The city’s response was inconsistent. They earned a free-kick, which Bernardo Silva delivered onto Rúben Dias’s head, but the defender’s attempt lacked coordination, mirroring the team’s lackluster performance.
Next was the continuation of poor defensive play. Xavi Simons passed the ball down the left side to Openda, who successfully outmaneuvered Dias in a one-on-one situation due to the latter’s slow speed, leaving him with no chance of catching up. Openda then made his way towards the goal, leaving Josko Gvardiol on the ground, and scored his second goal against Ortega.
This resulted in City’s goal difference lead being reduced to two points in the fight to become group champions. However, Guardiola’s immediate concern was giving a halftime speech to save the game.
He decided to substitute Dias in hopes that his replacement, Nathan Aké, would perform better. It seemed unlikely that City could continue to struggle during this time, as the first half was the worst performance under Guardiola in recent memory. They urgently needed to improve their passing, touches, and attacking play in order to involve Erling Haaland in the game. A previous weak header, easily caught by Blaswich, epitomized all of City’s issues.
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Leipzig imitated the style of the Champions League champions to stifle them when they didn’t have the ball. Typically, City’s cleverness breaks through this strategy, but that was not the case tonight. As a result, Guardiola made substitutions early in the second half, replacing Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker with Doku and Álvarez.
Immediately after, a sudden payout occurred: Álvarez passed the ball to Foden, who lightly touched it to Haaland. With a decisive strike, Haaland eliminated Blaswich as a threat. This was his 12th goal against this particular opponent and his 40th goal in the competition, setting a new record for the fewest number of appearances at just 35. Guardiola commented, “He has broken the record. It’s a great accomplishment for him.”
The atmosphere in the stadium shifted as the home team came to life and City began to sense a potential comeback victory. As a sign of this change in momentum, Marco Rose made the decision to substitute Openda, who had scored two goals. The shift in the game continued with an equalizer, as Aké smoothly passed the ball to Gvardiol, who then made a crossfield pass to Foden. It was at this point that City’s No 47 displayed his skill, leaving Mohamed Simakan standing and scoring a goal by shooting the ball through Lukas Klostermann’s legs, bringing the score to 2-2.
During half-time, Rose remarked that they had provoked their opponents. City then showed great resilience in their recovery. However, as Guardiola cautioned, they may not always be able to stage such a dramatic comeback.
Source: theguardian.com
