RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol scored a second-half header, cancelling out Riyad Mahrez's strike to earn a 1-1 with Manchester City in their Champions League last 16 clash on Wednesday.

One of the breakout stars of the Qatar World Cup as the cornerstone of Croatia's miserly defense, Gvardiol showed his attacking flair, launching himself above the City defense to head in the equalizer in the 70th minute. 

City took the lead after 27 minutes through Mahrez and looked on course for a comfortable away win but their fluency deserted them after the interval in the first leg tie. 

The home side, who have only lost once in their past 20 games, found their zip in the second half and looked the team most likely to head to the Etihad for the return leg with a victory under their belt. 

City's star striker Erling Haaland suffered for a lack of service, with the Norwegian clearly missing ill midfielder Kevin de Bruyne. 

City dominated possession in trademark fashion for the first quarter of the match, but failed to carve out any opportunities against a well-drilled and structured home side. 

"At the end, we were a little nervous, the coach told us to calm down, there are 90 minutes left to play," said Mahrez.

Leipzig coach Marco Rose added, "Two very, very different halves. We just didn't happen in the first half, just chased the ball, were very bad when we had it. The second was quite different, we were better with the ball, won it back better and played how we had envisioned to play."

Elsewhere, Romelu Lukaku boosted Inter Milan's chances of reaching the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in over a decade after scoring the only goal in Wednesday's 1-0 win over Porto.

Belgium forward Lukaku struck with four minutes remaining of the first leg at the San Siro on the rebound from his own header to decide an absorbing encounter at the San Siro.

Simone Inzaghi's side travel to Portugal next month to decide who will go through to the last eight with a slight advantage thanks to Lukaku's second goal in as many games in all competitions.

The 29-year-old, who has struggled with injury all season, struck his first league goal since August at the weekend and came off the bench in the second half to ensure Inter will have a lead to protect in the second leg as they seek a first quarter-final tie since 2011.

"Winning is the most important thing... I'm focusing on trying to do what's best for Inter," said Lukaku. "I'm pleased for the win, let's hope we can keep it going."