Manchester City suffered a second-half slump in their Champions League trip against RB Leipzig on Wednesday. The reigning Premier League champions dominated the first half but could only manage a draw halfway through. Inter Milan, meanwhile, secured a home victory against Porto thanks to a late goal from Romelu Lukaku.
Leipzig strike back after a lackluster first half
City dominated the early stages of the game in Germany. The visitor had 80% possession and all shots in the first 25 minutes. Riyad Mahrez then capitalized on the advantage with a goal in the 27th minute of the match.
Jack Grealish stuck a loose ball deep into the Leipzig Teletry. The winger then played on Ilkay his Gundogan, slipping a clever pass to the goalscorer. Mahrez slammed the ball into the net from above the box. Janice Blaswich didn’t even move in the hosts’ goal.
City dominated in the first half, but Leipzig looked like a different team in the second half. The hosts had six shots in the first 25 minutes of the second period, the sixth landing behind City’s net. Josko Gvaldior equalized with a header after Marcel Halstenberg put in a cross in the box.
A draw means the return match in Manchester will ultimately determine which clubs advance to the quarterfinals.
Lukaku scores a late goal to win the match
Although not as much as City, Inter were clearly dominant in the first half hour of the match. The Italians put quite a few pressures on the port in the early stages. Lautaro Martinez had a shot in the 13th minute before Diogo Costa cleverly saved Hacan Carjanoglu’s shot five minutes later. The Portugal international also made a huge save just seconds after half-time with Alessandro Bastoni’s shot.
Inter keeper André Onana also made a great save. The former Cameroon international made a surprising double save to keep the scoreline level in the 57th minute, when Mehdi Taremi had a great chance to give the visitors the lead but Onana struck from close range where he doubled. Stopped.
Porto were down to 10 men in the 78th minute after Otavio received a second yellow card for a bad foul on Carjanoglu. The Portuguese striker was cautioned in the first half for failing to return the ball to Inter after Onana deliberately put it out of play.
With the man’s advantage, Inter finally broke the impasse. Substitute Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring in the 86th minute. Belgium hit the post first with a header and stabbed the rebound into the goal net. It was Lukaku’s fourth goal of the season in all competitions.
Inter only need a draw in Portugal to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Photo credit: Imago/Nicolo Campo