Welcome to Sportstar’s live blog of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 match between Manchester City and RB Leipzig, being played at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England.
Alvarez is trying to have an impact in the final third. Meanwhile, Haaland, with five goals tonight, smiles from the sseating area after he made his opponents look like schoolboys in the Champions League.
Erling Haaland finally takes his leave tonight with Julian Alvarez replacing him as Guardiola decides to rest his goal machine for the rest of the season.
Another corner for Man City is turned towards the goal by Akanji and a hapless Blaich, just like the previous goal, makes a save but his nemesis Haaland find the all again to bury it into the net.
Haaland is flying and so is Manchester City!
City’s corner kick is headed in by Diaas and then, after two saves by Blaswich, the ball falls to Haaland’s feet and he scores yet again to pile on misery against a despodent Leipzig.
De Bruyne delives a cross for Haaland from the right and Gvardiol makes a good block to force a City corner.
The match has just turned into an absolute rout. Man City attacks on the counter. Haaland to Gundogan, Gundogan to Grealish and back to the German who shoots with his right-foot, past Blaswich and Manchester City continues its song at home!
RB Leipzig gets the ball rolling in the second half a huge margin to cover. City sits three goals ahead of the German side at the moment.
A one-sided contest in the first-half ends with Haaland completing his hat-trick as City sits head and shoulders above the Bundesliga side.
Dias heads te ball on target, but after a goal-line save by the RB Leipzig goalie, Haaland puts it into the net for a first-half hattrick. What a game he is having!
De Bruyne continues to be the supplier for attacks and this time he sets up Gundogan who shoots on target from a narrow angle. The Leipzig keeper does well to keep the ball out of the net.
Ederson comes out of the box and makes a rather reckless challenge against Werner and the referee does not give a foul. Instead, the referee books Werner for complaining and protesting. A hardh night for the visitors so far.
Man City is squeezing every space in the Leipzig final third with two forwards in the opposition box and the visitors try to absorb the termendous pressure Guardiola’s side is maintaining at home at the moment.
Oh my word! Manchester City scores again. Haaland lands the ball to De Bruyne’s feet who shoots from distance to hit the bar and Haaland heads the ball into the net on the follow-up!
Man City 2-0 RB Leipzig
Haaland steps up and buries the ball into the right bottom corner with a bulet of a shot and Guardiola’s men are ahead with a 2-1 lead in the contest.
The replay shows Henrichs got a hand on the ball while trying to clear it during the corner and chance for City to get their noses in front.
Man City’s corner falls for Akanji, who fails to shoot on target the first time and Haaland’s cross on the follow-up is missed by the Swiss and Leipzig finally clears the ball away. However, the referee checks for a penalty check and points to the spot.
De Bruyne serves the chance on a plate for Grealish with a pass in the Leipzig box and the former Aston Villa man shoots. Orban, Leipzig’s captain, makes a crucial block and the resulting corner is clered by Forsberg.
Leipzig tries a counter attack with Raum making a run along the left fank, completey unmarked. He crosses the ball into the centre but Ederson gets to it first to stop that attack.
Ake delivers a long ball for Haaland, who runs in like a rocket into the final third and tries a shot on goal, but Blaswich makes a great block after which the ball is eventually cleared. City had caught Leipzig napping!
Man City continues to build slowly with Dias getting the ball to Stones. Finally the ball reaches Grealish on the left. He passes the ball to Gundogan in betwene two Leipzig defenders and ries to get the ball back. The visitors, however, intercept, to nip the attack in the bud.
Ake tries to set up Haaland in the box with a cross from the left, but the Norwegian looks to have misjudged the ball completely as he mistimes his header, sticking his head out seconds after the ball whizzes past over his head.
Man City has started its conventional press up the pitch and Gvardiol, the scorer of teh equaliser in the first leg comes to his team’s rescue to seal the ball of City and gets it to his goalie, who shoots it out of danger
De Bruyne gets a pass from Bernardo and crosses from the right for Gundogan in the centre. The German gets a touch off his shin and shoots it over the net. Just Wide!
Manuel Akanji looks to draw the Leipzig forward line higher up the pitch to start an attack on the counter but Rose’s side looks balanced around the park at the moment.
Manchester City gets the ball rolling at the City of Manchestr Stadium. City starts from left to right in its home kit while Leipzing starts in black, from the other end.
The City of Manchester rings with chants of ‘Hey Jude!’ as the players walk out of the tunnel. The stage is set -- for Champions League drama, crucial goals and a win at the end of the even-sided contest!
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City
My first Champions League game here (in 2016), they asked, ‘Are you here to win the Champions League?’ If I was manager for Real Madrid I could understand, but I accept it. As much as we go through, it’s not going to change that.
“The way he celebrates his goals and his mates’ goals shows how happy he is here and how we are with him and his personality,” Guardiola said, talking about Haaland.
“This guy doesn’t score one or two goals and the people go, oh he’s not the same! He is always there so the numbers speak for itself. One of the biggest attributes I’ve discovered knowing him and working together is the fact that he can miss one chance, second, he’s not getting depressed, he’s not sad. He’s thinking positive, he knows he will have the chance, he knows he will be there. And this is an incredible attribute as a football player.”
Marco Rose, RB Leipzig:
We played against the opponent a few weeks ago and we know what to expect but it sounds easy in theory. In practice against City it is a different ball game. The first half in Leipzig was bad. Our defence wasn’t too bad but we hardly had any possession, that was the main issue. We want to be more intensive when we defend, meaning we will have a bit more possession, but once we have the ball we need to be a bit more responsible as well.If we only press it will open spaces for them, but if we just defend and don’t attack we will concede at some point. We need to find the right balance, we need a lot of confidence and courage, and we will need our best match this season..”
Manchester City and RB Leipzig have played three matches in the Champions League before. City and Leipzig have won a game each while the remaining one, the latest match, has ended in a 1-1 draw.
Haaland has scored six goals in his career against RB Leipzig -- more than against any other opponent.
In the Champions League this, Haaland is scoring a goal every 68.4 minutes, second only to Mohamed Salah (66.8), among players to play 300+ mins. He starts tonight!
Manchester City: Ederson, Akanji, Stones, Ruben Dias, Aké, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gündogan, Bernardo Silva, Grealish, Haaland.
RB Leipzig: Blaswich, Henrichs, Orban, Gvardiol, Raum, Laimer, Kampl, Haidara, Szoboszlai, Forsberg, Werner.
Manchester City, the dominant team in England for the past decade, is looking to reach the quarterfinals for the sixth straight season but has never won European football’s biggest prize. The team’s only appearance in the final came in 2021, when it lost 1-0 to Chelsea in Porto.
Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne knows the “noise” will get bigger around City in the competition the longer the team backed by Abu Dhabi wealth goes without winning it.
We’ve not won it but I feel we’ve done really well in the Champions League,” he said. “I know people base everything on only winning but I feel there’s been a lot of circumstances in these types of games.
“Obviously I want to win it, but I know as long as we don’t, I will get the same question. And I’m fine that people judge you on that.”
It also has also won all six home games in domestic competitions in 2023. Extending the streak to seven will send the club to the quarterfinals for the sixth straight year under coach Pep Guardiola in its quest to be European champion for the first time.
Guardiola last lifted the trophy 12 years ago with Barcelona
(with inputs from Reuters)
RB Leipzig is coming off a 3-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday, a game that saw Spain midfielder Dani Olmo come off the bench for his first appearance since January after a leg injury. France striker Christopher Nkunku is likely to miss out with a thigh muscle injury.
City is unbeaten at home in the Champions League for more than four years. That run includes a 6-3 win over Leipzig in the group stage two seasons ago.
When and where to watch Manchester City vs RB Leipzig Champions League clash?
The Champions League clash, Manchester City vs RB Leipzig, will be played at the City of Manchester Stadium on March 15, 2023. The game is scheduled for 1:30 am kick-off.
How to watch Manchester City vs RB Leipzig in the Champions League?
The UEFA Champions League round of 16-clash between Manchester City and RB Leipzig will be live telecast on the Sony Ten Network.
How to live stream Champions League round of 16 match, Manchester City vs RB Leipzig?
The Champions League round of 16 clash, Manchester City vs RB Leipzig, can be live streamed on Sony LIV.