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There was a moment in the first half when Rodri picked up the ball and the advertising forums flickered showing Turkish Airlines’ bright red all over the pitch.
Here’s Manchester City’s goalscorer in the Champions League final in Istanbul, and here’s the most productive team in Europe. Rodri then tossed the ball to the side outside the game to get everyone back on offer where City weren’t even playing like Pep Guardiola. aspect, let’s let the protective champions.
What had been an undeniable coronation at the top of the organization to cap off a birthday party between three club legends became awkward and surreal when the match began and the home team forgot they had a role to play. Instead, RB Leipzig gleefully pushed them aside to stun the Etihad and threaten to break a house record that stands in Europe for five years and more than 12 months in all competitions.
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City had already been warned of the willful talents of Xavi Simons and Lois Openda when the latter scored the first goal of the match in the 13th minute. When the gifts faded, Manu Akanji wrapped it in wrapping paper for him by getting nothing on a kick that bounced and through it to allow Openda to run past Stefan Ortega, for a rested Ederson.
This alarm at least provoked a reaction, even if the quality in the final third was well below average. Ruben Dias controlled to head Bernardo Silva’s free-kick over the bar a few yards out, then Rico Lewis exploded inside the box when he was so calm.
Having failed to take advantage of this opportunity, City had to pay. Dias had already been booked for a high foot and challenged Openda from 10 yards on the Leipzig side with all the hesitation of a guy who knew he could receive a second yellow card if he went in too hard.
That allowed the Leipzig forward to spin away from him and run the entire length of the City half unopposed before turning Josko Gvardiol inside out in the box and thumping the ball past Ortega for a second. The visitors were running away with the game while the Blues were away with the fairies.
By now, the Leipzig team should have tried to extend their stay at their Manchester hotel. It was the fourth hotel for the fourth match in town for the superstitious Germans after squandering the last three.
As they enjoyed their final period, two horsemen of the City apocalypse arrived: Rodri launching the ball out of contact and Haaland smashing in from 10 meters away. It’s surprising to see them play so poorly in a way that came out of nowhere.
However, one of City’s innovations in Europe over the years has been their ability to better cope with setbacks. Even when they look so bad that they’re excluded from games, they rarely do.
Nathan Ake came on at half-time for Dias to provide some stability and Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez had just scored before the hour mark when Phil Foden came on for Haaland to get one. Despite all the opportunities that have eluded him this season, this is the fifth goal in the Champions League for the Norwegian great this season and number 19 in all competitions.
City knew they could hurt Leipzig in the same way, it was just a matter of whether they had the concentration to start again and avoid scoring a third goal. It’s possible that it’s just, and Foden can perfectly catch an inside pass from Gvardiol. before passing the ball between Lukas Klostermann’s legs and scoring the equaliser with 20 minutes remaining.
Just as the fans were starting to settle for the equalizer, Foden dropped back into the box, played through Doku and the ball found its way to Alvarez to score his first goal for the club in six games. In the first half, City ended up doing more than enough to get the result they needed to improve the organisation and allow Guardiola to do what he needs to do in a few weeks’ time when he travels to Belgrade for the final match against Red Star.
It may not be remembered as a vintage that rivals Ballet on Ice, but this lively response is a pretty wonderful nod to the football memories of Colin Bell, Mike Summerbee and Franny Lee who were immortalized outside the stadium on Tuesday morning. . Just as the wonderful team of that time would go on to win national and European titles, today the criteria are so high that this organization is prepared for it, even if it is far from being at its best.
City continue to have their home record intact and make a comeback that will allow them to overcome this week before the difficult Premier League tests against Spurs and Villa. In those games, Rodri, Dias and Walker can be expected to play a lot more than they did here and as a result, City will take a big step forward.
Even on an odd night, the best team in Europe still have too much for most sides. And if these two teams meet again next year for the fourth in a row, RB Leipzig will need to find another new hotel.