With a game to spare, the holders are through, five out of five, and are guaranteed to finish in group G. Manchester city’s victory over rb leipzig on tuesday 3-2 makes it seem as if they were so far from their best, making it seem as if they were a shot across the bows for their opponents at home and abroad. Imagine what we would be like if we could do this on our off nights. In the 87th minute, julián lvarez makes a spectacular team move to complete the comeback.
it’s a scary prospect. Pep guardiola’s best bet would be to see them sink into a two-goal deficit in the first half as lois openda carved through a defense that was in its worst habits. In the second half, erling haaland and julian alvarez dominated the match, with the former scoring a late winner to close an 18-pass, 10-man move that leipzig could not answer. In this mood, few teams in europe can cope with them. Better critics may punish them more severely for lapses that have become a little more common of late: the clumsy display against chelsea, as well as two more toothless displays against liverpool and arsenal.
This more clumsy display could be brushed off if this wasn’t the best team on the planet, prohibitive favorites in every competition. However, they will be looking for a warning that city will inflict harm on them. This come-from-behind victory was exactly that, a reminder that even the kings of europe are mortal. The city offered a reminiscence of times gone by, a display that was both dominant and daft. Leipzig had abundant green space to fly into when they took the ball back. The positional determination of so many in sky blue was troubling, as was their reaction when threatened.
Last season, a city defender would take his time to assess any dangerous situation and then decide on the correct move. Kyle walker, ruben dias, and manuel akanji were all guilty of looking for a quick, cavalier escape under pressure on tuesday. That was enough to nerf their territorial advantage.
At halftime, every statistic seemed to be in their favor, except for the one in the top left corner that really mattered. Rb leipzig realized that playing out from the back was more risky than it was worth, after being humiliated 3-1 in germany and an 8-1 aggregate hammering in the round of 16 earlier this year. Instead, they were able to go direct, allowing openda to chase balls in the channel and beyond.
The belgian is strong, quick, and fearless, but akanji should have had the confidence to do so when goalkeeper janis blaswich punched the ball into the space between the center backs. Akanji tried to barge his forward off the field and flick it to safety. Openda did not have the authority to stop him from progressing, instead he cruised into the box before bending a shot away from stefan ortega. This was not a freaking moment.
At the etihad, carelessness was rampant. When leipzig did play short, the press was not quite enough to enthralled them. When one attack broke down, kyle walker was caught upfield. There was no such thing as a big deal with openda when the ball was played to him down the left. city had two players who could deal with him.
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