Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City - Premier League
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Manchester City's 1-1 draw away at RB Leipzig in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie just served to further underline how important Kevin De Bruyne is to his team. Pep Guardiola was without the Belgium international due to illness but had Erling Haaland in his side, although it was not enough for the Premier League titleholders to get the win.

Riyad Mahrez stepped up to open the scoring at Red Bull Arena with a tidy finish after 27 minutes but that alone did not mean that De Bruyne did not leave a gaping hole in the side. Haaland tends to get more chances to score when the 31-year-old is pulling the strings and suffered particularly with just one scuffed effort to show for his night's work against a team he normally dominates.

Guardiola's combination of Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Bernardo did not come off, which made the decision to not at least send in Phil Foden or Julian Alvarez from the bench somewhat baffling. Mahrez came up clutch once again, though, as is often the case once the Champions League reaches the knockout phase.

John Stones and Aymeric Laporte were not missed at the back for much of the game despite the aerial nature of Josko Gvardiola's leveler 20 minutes from time. City even held Leipzig without conceding a shot for a full 45-minute period but the possession-based dominance that they exercised for most of the game was not enough to get the victory.

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"They made a step forward and pressed higher and we had more problems to make the buildup," said Guardiola after the game. "After the goal, we concede and we come back and played a good last 15-20 minutes. We had good chances in both halves and a good result and we go to decide it in Manchester. I am happy for the whole game, not just the first half.

"What do you expect? That we play a friendly game here? How many games have you seen from Leipzig? You expect us to come here and win 0-5? That is not a reality. 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 0-4, I am sorry we are not able to do this."

In fact, it could easily have been a loss given that substitute Benjamin Heinrichs wasted a great opportunity for the hosts early in the second half. By the end of the game, Leipzig had out-shot City despite seeing less of the ball and Guardiola never reacted to the Germans' equalizer by making a change despite the aforementioned presence of Foden and Alvarez.

Instead, the visitors continued to look for a second goal without ever having truly looked likely to score beyond the Mahrez strike that they already had to their name and Haaland's scuff. The Norwegian hitman was a passenger at times for this one and De Bruyne not being on the field made it harder for City to get him into the encounter.

"I saw the team good, especially in the middle. I thought about Phil [Foden]. In the end, I decide to continue with what I have, especially the back four. Bernardo [Silva] was giving a lot of control in the middle."

Given their understanding, it was normal for Haaland to suffer without De Bruyne. However, it did feel as if City had greater creativity within their ranks than appeared to be the case which only further serves the argument that the Belgian is this side's undoubted talisman. That will not be the case in the return leg at the Etihad where Leipzig will also be obliged to come at City too.