Similar to Saturday's Premier League draw at Nottingham Forest, City could have been dominant after Mahrez gave them the lead in this round of 16 first-leg matchup in the 27th minute. However, Pep Guardiola's team once again failed to capitalise on their possession and pressure, and Gvardiol's equaliser with 20 minutes remaining served as another reminder that opportunities must be taken.
In an absurdly one-sided first half, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, and Ilkay Gundogan all had opportunities to exact revenge on the hosts who were available for the taking. On his return to Germany, former Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland, however, was unable to make an impression, touching the ball just seven times in the opening frame. Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte were unable to leave for Germany due to illness, and Phil Foden was benched following the Forest stalemate. After suffering a recent foot injury, Leipzig benched Chelsea-bound Christopher Nkunku in favour of Mahrez, Manuel Akanji, and Nathan Ake. Timo Werner, a former Chelsea forward, headed the Leipzig side.
City entered the game with confidence and enjoyed lengthy stretches of possession. They had only dropped one of their previous 17 Champions League games against German opposition—a dead rubber group loss at Leipzig the previous season. The hosts, who are currently fifth in the Bundesliga and have only been defeated once in 20 games, failed to get out of their own half as Kyle Walker mostly played as a right winger rather than a right-back.