(Reuters) – Leeds United coach Jesse Marsch is hoping for a better result when he comes up against Manchester City for a second time this season after his former side RB Leipzig lost a nine-goal Champions League thriller last year.
Marsch was in charge of Leipzig when they were lost 6-3 to City in a group stage match in September before he parted ways with the Bundesliga club at the end of the year.
Leeds, who drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday, host City on Saturday and American Marsch said he was well aware of the leaders’ quality.
“Now comes to Elland Road, for me, the best team in the world,” Marsch told reporters. “One of my teams this season has already played against Man City and I know what a challenge that game is.
“I know how difficult it is to limit their best players. We will have to be incredibly effective and clear with how we want to play against the ball and then we will have to find ways with the ball to try and control the ball a little more.”
Leeds are 16th in the league on 34 points, five points above the relegation zone, with five games left. Monday’s game was their first since April 9.
“I think it’s a really big point,” Marsch said. “It gets us closer to our ultimate goal …
“It wasn’t so easy with 16 days (between matches) to keep match sharpness and that showed a little bit.
“But the mentality of the group and the ability of the team to fight for every inch on the pitch I think really helped us earn the point.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
