One might occur. Two was somewhat negligent. Treble losses in a row? Manchester City would have been in the midst of a very uncommon crisis.

More than Pep Guardiola would have liked, the chances of that changed in Saxony. There were moments when RB Leipzig pulled even when City appeared vulnerable to the same kind of sucker punch Wolves had used a few days prior.

 

 

Imagine that: another comeback against a team that managed to get less than three shots on goal. I wish you luck in getting back up. But with the help of an outstanding Rico Lewis and the presence of that pivotal player, the man who never loses, Rodri, they manfully stabilized. And with eleven minutes remaining, Guardiola substituted Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez for one point, making it three.

With five minutes remaining, Alvarez dipped into the far corner, finishing a task that had eluded Erling Haaland the entire evening, before laying on for Doku in stoppage time. Bravo to the manager.

However, Rodri was the one who got you to reflect and wonder about Arsenal on Sunday. It’s no surprise that City has seized command of Group G and that the safety net has been reinstated.

 

 

 

He missed both the humiliating one at Molineux and the Carabao Cup losses at Newcastle, which they didn’t really care about. This weekend’s third game of his suspension takes place at Emirates Stadium. Whether the champions take anything with them when they leave north London will depend on how others chosen in his place fare.

Guardiola stated, “It was important to break that, the losing.” We responded in a really nice way as we were drawing. I’m rather happy with Leipzig’s transitions; I was like, “Oh my God, they are so fast.”

In his eight seasons in England, Guardiola has only ever experienced three straight losses, which occurred in 2018. He fiddled here. The old, new school concept of a central defender shifting into midfield to be ready for when John Stones is fit back, was replaced by Kyle Walker, who used to play wide and high, essentially as a winger. While Manuel Akanji accomplished the feat yesterday night, Stones, who returned to the team after not playing since the Community Shield, is the best at it.

 

City controlled it nearly entirely, despite being a little careless in possession at first—too many balls leaving teammates short and giving the hosts hope. After recovering from an injury, Bernardo Silva managed to stab Phil Foden’s clipped shot in his direction wide.

Leipzig scooped up a sloppy Grealish pass, and Openda, the future of Belgian football along with Doku, had surged through from a through-ball from Yussef Poulsen, with Akanji failing to sufficiently knock him off balance. City replied in the same deft manner that Wolves had done, staying ahead of the ball and having to play catch up.

Haaland kept wasting opportunities, finishing with four decent ones, before Foden raised the bar. Alvarez then showed up. Five minutes after taking the stage, with six minutes left, the Argentine was excavating a strike from beneath his feet. In stoppage time, Doku helped himself to a third goal as well, skipping onto an Alvarez ball for further insurance. Julian’s manager remarked, “It’s not the first time; he was excellent.”