Pep Guardiola must have been alarmed when in the second half of the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, Leipzig made Manchester City run until their players gave the impression of exhausting themselves physically and morally.
Tonight at the Etihad (9:00 p.m., Movistar) the Spanish coach hopes that his team will avoid the runner. Otherwise, the 1-1 in the first leg might not be enough to avoid a crisis and the unthinkable risk of elimination. “I want us to have more control,” Guardiola said. “I have always thought that the transition game is a coin in the air.” The continuous transitions made Leipzig grow in the first leg. Forced to move from box to box with unexpected frequency, City’s players became discouraged. It rarely happens to them in the Premier. In England, rivals usually wait for City grouped in their area with 11 players waiting for the counterattack. For long minutes the City footballers attack without leaving the 30 square meters that define the position of each one. Against Leipzig it was different. A worthy representative of the Bundesliga, the team from the Red Bull group exhibited all the athletic ability that makes the German championship the most physically demanding.
“We expect a high-energy game”, concluded Kevin de Bruyne; “It will be hard”. The second Belgian striker did not participate in the first leg. He will play the turn. But Guardiola warned that he must improve. “Kevin has an incredible ability to see the decisive pass,” he said. “What I want is for him to go back to basics. Mobility, the ability to activate without the ball on many occasions and continuously are the things that improve you. When this happens, decisive actions come by themselves.”
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