Riyad Mahrez‘s clinical strike capped off a dominant first half display from Pep Guardiola‘s men at the Red Bull Arena.
However, the hosts rallied after the break and drew level when Josko Gvardiol headed home from a corner with 20 to play.
Ilkay Gundogan went closest to finding a winner when he forced a fine save from Janis Blaswich, while City also had strong claims for a penalty waved away in stoppage time.
It’s all to play for at the Etihad Stadium in Tuesday 14 March’s return fixture, while you can check out the best stats from the first leg below...
Mahrvellous
Riyad Mahrez has enjoyed a hugely impressive run of form since the World Cup, culminating in him winning January’s Etihad Player of the Month and Goal of the Month awards.
And that hot streak continued in Leipzig, with the Algerian firing home in emphatic fashion before the half hour against Die Roten Bullen.
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It was the winger’s 20th Champions League goal, making him just the fifth African player to reach the milestone in the competition, after Mohamed Salah (44), Didier Drogba (44), Samuel Eto’o (30) and Sadio Mané (27).
In total, 16 of Mahrez‘s strikes in Europe’s elite competition have come while he’s been at City, with him registering 29 goal contributions from 44 Champions League appearances while at the Etihad so far.
Impressive record
City’s impressive record against German sides in the Champions League continued on Wednesday evening.
Pep Guardiola‘s men have lost just once in 18 encounters with a Bundesliga team in the competition, winning 14 and drawing three of those fixtures against Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Borussia Monchengladbach, Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig.
We have averaged just under 2.6 goals per match across that period, with our only defeat coming at the hands of Die Roten Bullen in the final match last season’s group stages.
However, City had already guaranteed qualification to the knockout rounds by this point.
Game of two halves
City were in control at the Red Bull Arena for the first 45 minutes, boasting 74% possession and a passing accuracy of 94.6% while facing just one shot.
However, it was a much more evenly-fought contest after the break, with our share of the ball dropping to 49.2%, while 84.7% of our passes found their intended target.
The above graphic shows how an exciting game ebbed and flowed, while also demonstrating City’s dominance across the first 45.
