Manchester City Vs RB Leipzig Premier League Football Match Score 2023
Manchester City are looking to win the Champions League for the first time. They are also looking to respond to the frustrating 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, which left them two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. But despite the result, Guardiola was encouraged by the performance of his side.
“Last game against Nottingham was highest standards,” he said. “I loved the way we play and we don’t win because it’s football. I do not have an answer on what happened in that situation. “Today we trained and it’s there but that doesn’t mean we’ll win. But I have a good feeling.” The game at the Red Bull Arena kicks off at 20:00 (UK) and we will bring you full coverage on mancity.com and the official Man City app.
Kyle Walker, Rúben Dias, Kalvin Phillips, Nathan Aké, Ilkay Gündogan, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Rodrigo, Stefan Ortega, Julian Alvarez, Bernardo Silva, Sergio Gómez, Manuel Akanji, Riyad Mahrez, Ederson, Máximo Perrone, Scott Carson, Phil Foden, Shea Charles, Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis, Alexander Robertson.
Man City face RB Leipzig in Champions League last 16; two-time winner Guardiola says “nothing will be enough” for his critics but he’s “grateful” for what he’s achieved; Spaniard explains Bernardo Silva’s left-back role, responds to criticism from Thierry Henry about Erling Haaland
Guardiola won the Champions League twice at Barcelona but has been unable to lift the trophy again at Bayern Munich or Manchester City, despite substantial domestic success with both clubs. City were runners-up in 2020/21 but Guardiola says nothing he achieves in the competition “will be enough” for his critics. As a result he has come to the conclusion he should just enjoy the “privilege” of competing in Europe’s elite club competition and accept “the destiny is already written”.
“It’s a fantastic competition. I love it,” he said, “We love to be here. It’s a privilege. I always had that feeling. “I don’t know how far we’ll go but already being here at this stage and to qualify last season to be here… Every season it is more and more difficult just to qualify for the Champions League next season. To go through the group stage is difficult, you know how many good teams cannot be there. The dream is to go forward and do a good game [against Leipzig] and go to the quarter-finals.
“Of course, it’s an international competition, so you can take a plane, we dress beautiful to fly and go to Europe to try to show our football, our game in a new stadium, a new culture. Natalie Pike will be in the studio with Paul Dickov, Karen Bardsley and Darius Vassell to give you a City-centric view on events in Germany.
During the game, Alistair Mann will talk you through proceedings with our radio commentary offering. Highlights will be available at 23:00 and CITY+ subscribers can watch a full 90-minute replay from midnight. Don’t forget, the best way to follow Manchester City is by downloading the official app! And when you do, turn on notifications to get alerted when our Matchday Live show starts.
Download on your mobile phone or tablet via Apple’s App Store or Google Play Store, or, if you already have the app, then simply visit the stores and update. “If my career finished tomorrow because I can’t be a manager, I was more than blessed and grateful for what I’ve done with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and here [at City] in European competition. “I couldn’t expect to have the career I’ve had. Not just the success that we had altogether, just for the way we play, I love it. I cannot ask more.
“We want to do our best. If it’s going to happen it’s going to happen. At the end the destiny is already written. We’ve been close, sometimes not, sometimes closer. “I have the feeling what we have done – all of us – for many years, whatever happens it’s going to fail. Whatever I do personally with the future, what I have done in this past, I’m going to fail, nothing will be enough.
“So that’s why when I learned that in Manchester City, just have fun, enjoy being here in this press conference, afterwards have a good dinner with good wine, watch Real Madrid and Liverpool, a little bit of Napoli… it’s always a pleasure to watch. Prepare for the game, motivate the players, ‘let’s go guys and try to do it again’. And that’s it.”
Guardiola went on to suggest the expectations placed on him and his players are unrealistic.
“Everyone put a perspective that everything is a disaster if you don’t win some prizes,” he said. “I don’t know if everyone puts this perspective for themselves. I don’t want to put this perspective on myself. “I’m blessed to be here. I never thought when I arrived [at City] every year we have to win the Premier League or every year you have to win three or four Champions League. Except Real Madrid the rest can’t do it!
“The last two seasons we’ve been really close and played really, really good games. And we try to do it again.” Guardiola also went into depth about his team’s style of play, following criticism from his former Barcelona forward Thierry Henry that City were too predictable with Erling Haaland up front. The comments came before City’s win at Arsenal and draw at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Within his response Guardiola went on to back his decision to play Bernardo Silva out of position at left-back, despite Forest’s equaliser coming from a cross from that side of the pitch. “I understand exactly what Titi [Henry] wants to say for the fact we play and put the balls to Haaland,” said Guardiola. “[But] to be less predictable is not in terms of Haaland. It’s in terms of the way we can make the process to arrive in different channels into the final third, not just with Erling. “People say we concede a goal [from] the left side because Bernardo is playing there but the people don’t realise. And I understand the view is something like the left-back has to defend in that position.
