Man City Held By Leipzig, Lukaku Seals Victory For Inter
23 February, 2023
RB Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City
Manchester City came away with a 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig in the round of 16 first-leg tie at Red Bull Arena.
Man City made three changes to the side that drew against Nottingham Forest, as Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Riyad Mahrez were recalled, with Erling Haaland leading the line as lone-striker.
As for Leipzig, striker Christopher Nkunku was only fit enough to start from the bench as their attack was led by Timo Werner, Andre Silva, Emil Forsberg and Dominik Szoboszlai.
The Citizens struggled to break down a low block by the German side in the early stages but found the breakthrough just before the half-hour mark after a mistake at the
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back opened space for Mahrez to go through on goal and he smashed a low shot into the bottom corner. After a largely subdued first stanza, there was a flurry of chances in the second stanza from both ends and Josko Gvardiol eventually levelled matters for the Red Bulls with a towering header in the box from a short corner delivered by Marcel Halstenberg.Marco Silva's men went pound for pound with City in the closing stages, bravely even edging the possession stakes and managed to shut the visitors out at the back.
Inter Milan 1-0 Porto
Inter Milan got a slight advantage in the last 16 encounter against ten-man Porto after a 1-0 win in the first-leg at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Inter brought back goalkeeper Andre Onana and Milan Skriniar as alterations in the back-line while a change in midfield saw Hakan Calhanoglu return to link up with forwards Lisandro Martinez and Edin Dzeko, as Romelu Lukaku dropped to the bench.
The Italian side kept the ball well in the early stages but in a tight affair when it came to goal-scoring opportunities, Porto had the first chance eight minutes before the interval from a rebound in the box but Galeno missed the target.
The game suddenly came to life as Alessandro Bastoni had a big chance for Inter on the stroke of half-time with a downward header that was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
The second stanza was not short of goal-mouth action with Onana kept busy while Inter also threatened, especially after bringing on Lukaku.
However, the game became lopsided in the last 12 minutes after Porto were reduced to ten men after Otavio got a second booking for a late tackle on Calhanoglu and was sent off.
Simone Inzaghi's charges capitalized on their numerical advantage as Lukaku broke the deadlock four minutes before time with a header that came off the post and reacted the quickest to finish off the rebound.
Source: www.snl24.com
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