Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola joked he could field “nine strikers” against RB Leipzig next month after being held to a 1-1 draw in Germany in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on Wednesday.
City were held to a 1-1 draw in Germany on Wednesday in the first leg of their last 16 tie with Riyad Mahrez’s opener cancelled out by a header from Josko Gvardiol.
After watching his side held to a second successive draw, this time in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with RB Leipzig, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola offered a novel solution to the visitors’ struggles to score more.
“Maybe in the second leg I will be crazy and play with nine strikers,” he joked.
Guardiola may have appeared in a positive mood after the game in Germany – and an away draw in a European knockout game is certainly not a result to be sniffed at – but it will likely still frustrate him that his side have not turned their recent dominance into more goals.
At the weekend they dropped two points in the Premier League title race after a first-half opener for City was cancelled out by a second-half equaliser by Nottingham Forest – and it was the same story at RB Leipzig.
City had been in total control in the opening 45 minutes yet only had Riyad Mahrez’s goal to show for it.
“You expect us to come here and win 0-5? That is not a reality,” Guardiola told BT Sport after the game.
“This is a competition that in the group stage many important teams are out. It is difficult. We are a good team and we do many, many good things. We continued to do this.
“People expect us to come here and win 4-0, I am sorry we are not able to do this.”
The City manager gathered his team together on the pitch for an impromptu motivational session after the final whistle in an attempt to lift their spirits.
“They had their heads down, I told them ‘Why are your heads down, put your heads up,” the Spanish manager told the post-match press conference.
“It was a really good game the game you played. If people don’t like it, it doesn’t matter, you played the game the way it should be played.”
Leipzig manager Marco Rose said he was confident ahead of the second leg in Manchester, but admitted “to go to City, we’d rather have a 3-0 advantage to feel better.”
“We can take plenty out of the game so that we can not play another first half like we did today.”
