It was all going so well.
Manchester City had 74 per cent possession in the first half, had dominated a very good RB Leipzig side, and done so by fielding another innovative formation without two of Pep Guardiola's best players. But then it all unravelled, and the frustrations couldn't be hidden at full time. They had been creeping in for a while before.
After an impressive Leipzig fightback, City felt aggrieved by full-time after a late penalty shout went ignored, and Guardiola felt compelled to begin his post-match team-talk on the pitch. Erling Haaland had started to turn on teammates, leaving an evening that started with such promise with something of a sour taste.
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City should have wrapped up the first leg long before Josko Gvardiol's equaliser, but the sight of Benjamin Henrich's punching a 92nd-minute shot away in his own area will leave the Blues sick in the stomach as they reflect on a frustrating night in Germany. VAR opted not to punish Henrichs and give City a lead to take into the second leg, and Guardiola was maybe wise to march onto the pitch and corral his players to calm them down rather than encourage protests.
Save that frustration for the second leg - and there will be plenty of frustration to lean on from the RB Arena.
After recalling Nathan Ake to his side to resume their Champions League campaign at RB Leipzig, Guardiola gleefully told a reporter that Ake would play at left-back and City 'always' play a back four. Come kick-off, and Ake was on the left of a back three, with Kyle Walker effectively playing in midfield. It was another innovative formation - perhaps borne out of necessity - and one that saw his side baffle their opponents and take firm control of this last 16 tie. It was anything but a back four.
Rule number one: Pep Guardiola doesn't always tell the truth.
From kick-off, Walker was haring up the right wing, and that gave Riyad Mahrez license to float around the inside right channel, and it was clear from the onset it was a brief in which he would excel.
After Ruben Dias headed straight at Leipzig's Janis Blaswich, City were warming into their stride with both Mahrez and Jack Grealish dangerous. Grealish had earlier driven into the centre to win a free-kick, and Leipzig failed to heed the warning as a loose pass allowed the number ten another run through the middle.
This time, the ball forward caused more panic in the Leipzig back line. Ilkay Gundogan cleverly let it run through his legs, and Mahrez could give Blaswich the eyes, and finish well into the bottom corner.
Bernardo had been moved forward slightly into defensive midfield after his secondment at left-back, and was popping up everywhere from by Rodri's side to supporting Mahrez and Grealish. Who would have thought that playing as a left-back would kick-start Bernardo's season? It feels like a set position is irrelevant for the Portuguese at present, he will dictate play from anywhere on the pitch.
City had won all of their previous six last-16 first leg ties under Guardiola, as well as the one before that under Manuel Pellegrini. They know the importance of asserting their dominance, especially if they are away from home, and have a strong record of taking control of a tie and making a statement in their first knockout game.
This was no exception, with a Leipzig side who have beaten Real Madrid this season made to chase the ball throughout the first half. They have dangerous forwards, but City simply didn't allow the ball to get to them. All three of City's fellow English sides have lost their first leg games, and Manchester United were held at Barcelona in the Europa League.
City were hoping to buck the trend but their first-half dominance prompted a more adventurous Leipzig approach after the break - at least to the extent that they had more than their first-half 24 per cent possession. Benjamin Henrichs showed their intent with a header over the bar, and then he dragged a glorious effort wide with only Ederson to beat after Ake was caught too centrally. Ederson would come out to stop an Andre Silva scoop after Akanji was left on the floor, and the goalkeeper was also brave to push a good cross away.
Walker was now playing more as a traditional right-back, and Ake as a left-back (aside from that Henrichs miss). Mahrez saw an effort blocked as the visitors tried to take advantage of Leipzig's higher press. Erling Haaland had been making runs on the shoulder of his defender all night, but City had been reluctant to pick that option in the first half.
As the Grealish-Mahrez influence waned after the break, Haaland couldn't hide his frustration when another good run went ignored by Ilkay Gundogan, and the noise was rising inside the RB Arena. When he was finally given chance to chase a ball, he ran too wide and couldn't direct his effort on target. Still, after 67 minutes, Haaland had touched the ball in the Leipzig box and had a shot. It was progress, of sorts, but City couldn't find their forlorn striker again in the final 23 minutes.
By that point, though, Ederson was a one-man defence from Leipzig's brave second-half assault, and he dived up high to push out a Szoboszlai effort that was narrowing towards the top corner. From that high, however, to an immediate low, as Ederson misjudged the resulting corner and Gvardiol rose highest to head in a deserved leveller. Ederson led the calls for a push on Dias, but the claims were as weak as the defending as the cross came in.
City rallied slightly, as Gundogan forced a save and Bernardo saw an effort blocked, but Leipzig had called their bluff with another experimental formation and got their rewards for attacking it in the second half. By pushing Walker back, and Ake across, City were trying to persist with the first-half formation in a system that no longer suited it. The insistence to not play direct to Haaland felt self-sabotaging by the end.
Henrich's obvious handball with the last kick (or punch) of the game will leave a sour taste, although City will also feel sick that they allowed such a decision to determine their success.
Behind the goal at one end of the RB Arena was a banner spanning the width of the stand reading (in English): "We're on our way to Istanbul" - the location of this season's final. City attacked it in the first 45, and looked to put Europe on alert with a dominant performance. Leipzig used the words to their advantage in the second period whenever they looked up, and are firmly in this tie ahead of next month's Etihad return leg.
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