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Manchester City have not kept a clean sheet in any of their six Champions League group gamesManchester City ended their Champions League group campaign with defeat by RB Leipzig in a match played without fans because of Covid-19 restrictions.
Pep Guardiola opted to field a strong side, which included a first club start since 6 November for Kevin de Bruyne, despite last season's runners-up having sealed top spot in Group A with one game to spare.
But the Premier League leaders ended the group stage without a clean sheet after Hungary midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai and Portugal forward Andre Silva scored for Leipzig, who parted company with their manager over the weekend.
City also finished with 10 men after Kyle Walker was shown a straight red card in the last 10 minutes for a foul on Silva.
Szoboszlai had rounded keeper Zack Steffen to open the scoring before Silva, who had earlier been denied by City's second-choice keeper, doubled the lead with a neat finish.
The visitors, who put six past Leipzig at Etihad Stadium in September, suffered a frustrating night at an empty Red Bull Arena with Phil Foden having a shot tipped on to the post before Riyad Mahrez reduced the deficit with a diving header.
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City finish group without clean sheet
City, who will discover their last-16 opponents on Monday, end their group campaign with 12 points from six games - and no clean sheets.
In addition, the late dismissal of Walker means the England defender faces a suspension when his side resume their European campaign in February.
Just days after Guardiola had praised his team for a performance that propelled them to the summit in England, City produced a disjointed display in Germany.
Surprisingly, with a busy December schedule ahead, Guardiola opted to field the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Fernandinho and Foden, who was replaced at the start of the second half, for what was effectively a dead rubber.
Nineteen-year-old forward Cole Palmer was sent on three minutes from the end of normal time but fellow teenagers Conrad Egan-Riley, Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Romeo Lavia and James McAtee were unused.
At least De Bruyne got some vital minutes under his belt after recovering from Covid-19.
He forced Peter Gulacsi, who left Liverpool without playing a league game, into a fine save from a free-kick on the stroke of half-time.
However, De Bruyne ended the match with what seemed a harsh booking after not following the referee's instructions when City were awarded another free-kick.
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RB Leipzig
Squad number1Player nameGulácsi
Squad number22Player nameMukiele
Squad number16Player nameKlostermann
Squad number32Player nameGvardiol
Squad number3Player nameAngelino
Squad number27Player nameLaimer
Squad number44Player nameKampl
Squad number18Player nameNkunku
Squad number10Player nameForsberg
Squad number17Player nameSzoboszlai
Squad number33Player nameAndré Silva
Squad number2Player nameSimakan
Squad number14Player nameAdams
Squad number21Player nameBrobbey
Squad number26Player nameIlaix Moriba
Squad number39Player nameHenrichs
Manchester City
Squad number13Player nameSteffen
Squad number2Player nameWalker
Squad number5Player nameStones- Squad number6Player nameAké
Squad number11Player nameZinchenko
Squad number8Player nameGündogan
Squad number25Player nameFernandinho
Squad number17Player nameDe Bruyne
Squad number26Player nameMahrez- Squad number10Player nameGrealish
Squad number47Player nameFoden
- Squad number3Player nameRúben Dias
Squad number7Player nameSterling- Squad number80Player namePalmer
Line-ups
RB Leipzig
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Gulácsi
- 22MukieleSubstituted forHenrichsat 80'minutes
- 16KlostermannSubstituted forSimakanat 45'minutes
- 32Gvardiol
- 3Angelino
- 27LaimerSubstituted forAdamsat 63'minutesBooked at 90mins
- 44KamplBooked at 14mins
- 18Nkunku
- 10ForsbergSubstituted forBrobbeyat 79'minutes
- 17Szoboszlai
- 33André SilvaSubstituted forKourouma Kouroumaat 86'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Simakan
- 14Adams
- 21Brobbey
- 26Kourouma Kourouma
- 31Martínez
- 35Bonnah
- 39Henrichs
Man City
Formation 4-3-3
- 13Steffen
- 2WalkerBooked at 82mins
- 5StonesBooked at 81mins
- 6AkéSubstituted forRúben Diasat 87'minutes
- 11Zinchenko
- 8Gündogan
- 25Fernandinho
- 17De BruyneBooked at 30minsSubstituted forPalmerat 87'minutes
- 26Mahrez
- 10Grealish
- 47FodenSubstituted forSterlingat 45'minutes
Substitutes
- 3Rúben Dias
- 7Sterling
- 31Ederson
- 33Carson
- 56Egan-Riley
- 80Palmer
- 87McAtee
- 90Lavia
- 97Wilson-Esbrand
Live Text
Match ends, RB Leipzig 2, Manchester City 1.
Second Half ends, RB Leipzig 2, Manchester City 1.
Fernandinho (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Brian Brobbey (RB Leipzig).
Offside, Manchester City. Fernandinho tries a through ball, but Raheem Sterling is caught offside.
Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ilaix Moriba (RB Leipzig).
Dangerous play by Rúben Dias (Manchester City).
Péter Gulácsi (RB Leipzig) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig) is shown the yellow card.
Jack Grealish (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig).
Offside, RB Leipzig. Dominik Szoboszlai tries a through ball, but Christopher Nkunku is caught offside.
Jack Grealish (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig).
Fernandinho (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Brian Brobbey (RB Leipzig).
Rúben Dias (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig).
Substitution, Manchester City. Rúben Dias replaces Nathan Aké.
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