Manchester City vs Leeds United, summary: Gundogan, Rodrigo goal, score, goals & highlights | Premier League 2022/23
Manchester City vs Leeds United: as it happened
Full time report:
Leeds took advantage of City heads potentially thinking about next week as they grabbed a late goal from an Akanji mistake, but that doesn't hide the fact that for 85 minutes they were crushed liked cherry tomatoes in King Charles' hands.
Manchester City's dominance in the first half was capitalised on by Ilkay Gundogan, who scored two beautiful strikes from the edge of the box to set the home side up for a comfortable win.
The second half, with Leeds two down, inevitably saw the tempo drop, but that eventually played into their hands as Rodrigo pounced on a loose ball and popped a shot past Ederson to make City realise that they couldn't think about the Champions League until the whistle went.
But Pep's team, after a good telling off from the manager, saw the game out well and fully deserved the three points. Leeds, for their part, sit precariously on the edge of relegation with other games around them to play.
That's all, folks!
Thanks for tuning in your eyes and emotions to the AS USA live coverage of what turned out to be a more interesting game than most of us imagined.
Make sure you get your lovely self over to the rest of the site where we've got even more football coverage coming up... tonight!
Oh, yes, all the football, all the time. It never stops. Not even when the season ends. Even when you think it's over, it keeps going. And going. And then the next season starts...
Cheers
Joe
Full time!
Manchester City get the win at the Etihad Stadium!
Gundogan OFF
Rodri ON
McKennie is booked for kicking the ball away after fouling Gundogan as the German broke on the counter.
Guardiola is not a happy man on the sidelines...
City are managing the time by keeping the ball in the corner with Haaland. As you would.
4 minutes added.
Into the final minute of normal time.
Leeds try to rush things in the buildup and the ball whizzes out of play. Shouts of Come on City are drowned out by the away supporters.
City are keeping the ball and trying to calm the nerves of the whole stadium who are emitting a feeling of anxiety that is propelling the away side to look for more.
What a turnaround: Leeds have found life with just minutes to spare!
Silva ON
Álvarez OFF
My, oh my, Leeds are piling on the pressure... City look shellshocked!
Game on!
Akanji's defensive header git Rodrigo and the Spaniard latched onto the loose ball and slid his shot past Ederson!
RODRIGO MORENO CUTS THE DEFICIT
GAME ON!!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
It smacked straight off the right post!
HE HAS MISSED!!
Gundogan stepping up for his hat-trick...
Struijk comes flying in on Foden who danced past 2 Leeds players, taking him to ground. Clear penalty.
Penalty for City!
Rico Lewis tries his luck from distance but the youngster's shot sails into the stands.
Bamford and Forshaw OFF
Aarsonson and Struijk ON
Wober clears Foden's low cross that was aimed towards Álvarez at the far post.
The game has slowed down to levels lower than a post-match recovery session. Manchester City are sloshing the ball from right to left and back again, with Leeds' players chasing the spaces they used to be standing in.
Robles again comes flying out to take the ball's flight path away from the blonde Norwegian man up front.
Robles calmly picks up the ball inside the box after Foden tried to squeeze a pass through an impossibly small gap to Haaland, who will no doubt have a restless night as he mulls over his missed chances today.
Ayling tries to find Rodrigo with a chipped pass behind Akanji but Ederson is on hand to rush out and catch the ball.
MAHREZ'S EFFORT IS SAVED BY ROBLES
The cheeky bandit hit a ferocious low drive towards goal that almost slid in underneath Robles!
Mahrez slides a reverse pass down the wing to De Bruyne and Rodrigo takes a card after sticking out a leg to stop the Belgian.
Chance for City!
A Walker cross is pumped into the danger area from the right and Álvarez gets his feet muddled up, sending it out of play.
Into the wall from Mahrez, Leeds survive.
Mahrez and De Bruyne are stood over the ball...
Forshaw loses the ball in the buildup and Haaland is subsequently fouled as Leeds scramble back, giving City a free-kick on the edge of the box.
Harrison OFF
Summerville ON
McKennie plays a ball over the top of the City defence to Bamford, who chooses the play a cross into the box without looking up to see who is there.
Akanji clears the lazy effort.
Rico Lewis slipped a beautiful pass through the middle to Haaland who turned on his heels and swung his left boot at the ball, which rolled past Robles and onto the post.
HAALAND OFF THE POST!
Leeds now have 24% possession. It's the small things.
Harrison almost finds himself away on his own after a mistake in the buildup from City; Akanji does brilliantly well to chase back and steal the ball from the Leeds winger, who was one vs one with Ederson.
Roca and Gnonto OFF
Greenwood and Rodrigo ON
The referee gives a goal kick after coming off the head of Rico Lewis. Bamford is furious.
Marc Roca hoofs a long ball over the top towards Bamford, who is smothered by Akanji and Laporte.
Nobody is quite sure what the injury is, as it all happened suddenly. We're back underway.
Walker ON
Ake OFF
Walker is being prepared to replace Ake, who is down injured.
The ball came from Álvarez on the right and the Leeds-born striker headed straight into the grasp of the goalkeeper.
ROBLES SAVES HAALAND'S HEADER!
Leeds have received the ball a couple of times over the last minute but have failed terribly in putting anything together.
First Harrison inexplicably falls over before Bamford gets caught offside. Shambles.
De Bruyne's cross is put back across goal from Laporte and Haaland's header thunders off the crossbar from close range!
HAALAND OFF THE CROSSBAR
Wober is penalised for a late tackle from behind on De Bruyne, but he gets away without a yellow card. City have a free kick near halfway.
Remember, you can watch the game live on fuboTV (free trial available).
Bamford slips past Laporte after a fast break from Leeds, but the defender gets a slight touch on the ball and it rolls back to Ederson. A bright start from Leeds.
No changes for either side.
And we're off!
Here come the players for the second half!
It's not getting any better for Leeds
Manchester City are on another planet, in another galaxy, running round in another universe.
Here's how the scores look in the other games:
Bournemouth 1-1 Chelsea
Tottenham 1-0 Crystal Palace
Wolves 1-0 Aston Villa
A damning lesson for Leeds United, who have not had a sniff for 45 minutes. City have, as expected, run riot from the off, finding space in all areas of the pitch and creating plenty of chances.
On another day, Erling Haaland would have had a hat-trick or maybe more, but Gundogan has been there to make sure the goalscoring touch in the team still shines through.
To say Leeds have been bailing water is an understatement: they don't even have a boat anymore and their legs have been bitten off by the sharks that are circling. Survival now isn't about points, it's about keeping the number on the scoreboard in single figures.
Hope you people that are watching the coronation are enjoying yourselves.
Half time!
Foden fires over a volley from the edge of the box after Ake's header was saved by Robles.
A nasty tackle from Gnonto takes down Mahrez from behind. It looked like the Italian slipped but he still deserves the yellow card.
Two added minutes.
Ayling skips past Foden and gives Leeds some breathing space down the right side of the pitch.
Harrison tries to play to McKennie but the USMNT international fails to make the right run and Leeds lose the ball again.
Completed passes:
City 357 - 39 Leeds
Leeds just put three passes together. Shall we celebrate?
Never mind, Manchester City have the ball again.
City are toying with Leeds: Kristensen slips as he goes to clear a cross from the right and the crowd appeal for handball.
Leeds can't get out of their own box, let alone half. Every time they get the ball only serves to clear possession away from the goal. There is no time for anything, City are rampant.
The pass through to the Norwegian is perfect, slipping him in down the right, but he shoots with his weaker foot and falls over the ball.
Yes, really.
HAALAND MISSES A HUGE CHANCE
Robles comes flying out of his goal and almost gifts City the third goal as he fails to catch a high ball, allowing Álvarez to take a touch and shoot into a crowd of players that blocks the effort.
Leeds aren't a good side, but this must be hellish to play against. City are ruthless.
Robles saves a Foden shot as he takes the ball down from a Gundogan pass over the top. Offside called by the linesman.
HUGE SAVE FROM EDERSON!
Roca hit a fierce cross that was met by Wober and Ederson saved the thunderous header!
Back underway. Leeds have a corner.
The man is on fire. What a goal from the midfielder.
He gets the ball from Mahrez again on the edge of the box and whips a wonderful shot towards goal, this time into the far post, that flies past a powerless Robles.
He looks OK to continue.
De Bruyne is down.
That was wonderful.
Gundogan played a gorgeous pass with the outside of his boot to De Bruyne inside the box. The Belgian flicked a pass round the corner to Haaland who scorched a flamethrower of a shot past the post.
HAALAND MISSES A HUGE CHANCE TO SCORE!
McKennie smacks away another Mahrez cross; City are dominating and have had 84% possession so far.
As it stands, Manchester City have a 4 point advantage over Arsenal at the top of the league.
City come close again with Foden on the left and then Mahrez on the right, who tried to lob the goalkeeper from the tightest of angles, but saw his shot bounce off the roof of the net.
Back underway.
Mahrez took the ball on the right and played a low pass to Gundogan, unmarked on the edge of the box. The German had floated in unseen and fired a low shot into the bottom corner, past Robles.
IKLAY GUNDOGAN
City come close again, this time with Mahrez who floats in a wonderful cross from the right that skims Haaland's blonde locks and flies past the goal.
Haaland was played in down the left side and the Spanish goalkeeper did amazingly well to come crashing out of his goal and stop the powerful strike from the league's top scorer!
ROBLES WITH A HUGE SAVE
HUGE CHANCE!
Álvarez skies a shot from the penalty spot after De Bruyne fired in a cross from the right!
Foden and Haaland step on each others' toes inside the box and the Norwegian ends up on the floor after swinging a boot at the ball.
Leeds torn apart once again by a simple through ball.
De Bruyne hits a low shot from the edge of the box that Max Wober throws himself in front of.
Leeds are defending like madmen but there is a desire to compete that we haven't seen recently. City, it must be said, are still in first gear and are finding spaces when they turn up the pressure with Gundogan.
Chance for Leeds! Bamford gets on the end of a cross from the right that sails over the bar.
Man City break and Foden almost gets in behind from Gundogan's effort to slip him through. Leeds need to be careful...
Leeds get a few chances to break with Harrison, who tries to slide a ball into Bamford, but Ederson claims the pass.
Vibesman Robbie Keane has been a very active man on the sidelines so far.
McKennie and Roca have got the tough job of chasing KDB and Álvarez.
Akanji heads over a Gundogan corner. Leeds survive.
The atmosphere, as I can hear it, is coming from the Leeds crowd, who are well up for the battle.
Rico Lewis tries to drive the ball through the middle but he sees his effort blocked and cleared. Leeds are defending as though they have a 0-1 lead in the 95th minute.
De Bruyne whips in a cross from the left that almost finds Haaland; Robles gets down well to hold it.
Kristensen makes a much-needed clearance as De Bruyne almost finds space on the edge of the box. There is a huge mass of players in the middle from Leeds, which is probably a wise idea for the moment.
It looks like it's Marc Roca who is the man on Kevin De Bruyne today; he's keeping within close range of the Belgian in the early stages.
Haaland has the first shot of the game: it flies high and wide from the edge of the box.
Leeds have dropped to a back six as City start with all the possession.
It's a fantastic atmosphere at the Etihad Stadium today.
And we're off!
Leeds kick us off from right to left.
A quick national anthem before we begin...
And we're ready to go!
Gundogan's pre-match speech to his players:
"No mistakes, they're going to be nervous, so let's press high."
Here come the players!
Manchester City are in their home kit; Leeds are in the black and orange third kit (designed by the chairman's son)
Here's a reminder of the starting XIs:
Man City: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Laporte, Ake; Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Alvarez, Foden; Haaland
Leeds: Robles; Ayling, Kristensen, Wober, Firpo; Roca, McKennie, Forshaw; Harrison, Bamford, Gnonto
Ten minutes to go!
The warmups have finished and the players are now inside the dressing rooms for the final team talks before kick-off!
Let's see if Big Sam can stop the leakage...
Leeds conceded 20 goals in April; Manchester City scored 23, not a good omen for The Whites.
Remember, you can watch the game live on fuboTV (free trial available).
Looks like we might see some changes from Leeds' structure today:
The usual right-back, Kristensen, is apparently playing alongside Wober at centre-back.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/diarioas/T73YRWR22XR6E2GFZPG5J6I5CQ.jpg)
So, Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is about to break another one million records as the season goes on - but which ones?
Roddy's broken down all his numbers in a handy explainer which tells you exactly what he's up for achieving this campaign.
Here's how you can watch the game today, if you'd like to do so as well as follow our magnificent live commentary.
What games are left for Manchester City?
They've got the challenge of Leeds today and will be looking to get the job done quickly as they have a certain Champions League semi-final coming up against Real Madrid on Tuesday next week.
After that, it's another relegation-threatened team in Everton before the return leg of the Madrid tie at the Etihad.
Two tough league games remain after that as they play Brighton, Chelsea and Brentford. You can decide which of the three is not the difficult one.
Then, to finish off their domestic season, they have Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
Who is Sam Allardyce, the new Leeds manager?
Now considered a manager who is drafted in to put out fires and save teams from relegation, Allardyce was originally known for his forward-thinking ideas and innovative methods.
He rose to prominence in English football with Bolton in the early 2000s, and was the first manager in England to use a sports psychologist 24/7. He is a known data-fanatic, and was using player performance metrics way before anyone else in the country.
Now, however, it seems as though his style of management and research has led him further and further back down the pitch, and his most recent teams have been known for their defensive solidity and ‘agricultural’ football style.
'Big Sam’ has reportedly been paid over half a million pounds to take on the Leeds job in their fight for survival with 4 games left - the latest external appointment in Premier League history - and reports also suggest that he will be in for around 2 million pounds In bonus fees if he manages to keep the side in the Premier League.
Leeds starting XI:
Here's the tweet after Leeds quickly deleted the first one: they accidentally put two Kochs on the bench. Why are you laughing?
Leeds United XI:
Meslier drops to the bench as Allardyce goes for what looks like a midfield three of Roca, McKennie and Forshaw.
Manchester City team news in!
Ederson
Lewis - Akanji - Laporte - Ake
Gundogan - De Bruyne - Foden
Mahrez - Haaland - Álvarez
What else is on in the Premier League?
These are today's games. We've got two derbies in there as well as relegation threatened Chelsea taking on Bournemouth:
Bournemouth v Chelsea
Manchester City v Leeds United
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
Wolves v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Brentford
Both teams have arrived at the stadium.
Not long to go before the teams are announced; in fact, we've got less than ten minutes to wait!
A chance of thunder? In Manchester?
In a strange turn of events, it looks like rain is on the cards in England's north-west. For anyone reading this outside the UK, let me tell you that this is not a common occurrence at all.
A clash of styles...
According to the official Premier League website, City have played 21,595 passes so far this season, made 26,818 touches, had 528 shots, and missed 62 big chances.
Erling facing his home town team
Haaland was born in Leeds in 2000, and chose not to celebrate his goals against The Whites back in December. However, I'm sure he'll have to try hard not to do so if he manages to bag number 36 of the season (and probably even more).
LEE SMITH / Action Images via Reuters
What's gone so wrong at Leeds?
Head coach Javi Gracia was appointed in February after the club finally decided to get rid of Jesse Marsch.
The squad has talent but they are evidently not a good team, and under both Marsch and Gracia failed to find any sort of defensive solidity, albeit for different reasons.
Marsch’s insistence on Red Bull tactics caused Leeds to leak goals and the confidence levels fell through the floor after a second-half collapse to Crystal Palace under Gracia.
From then on, it’s been defeat after defeat.
Sporting director, Victor Orta, has also been shown the door after his signings have failed to make an impact (yes, I’m looking at you, Weston).
This leaves them with 'Fireman' Sam Allardyce and 4 games to go, with just goal difference saving them as things stand.
AFP7 vía Europa Press / AFP7 vía Europa Press
How things went last time at the Etihad:
The last time Leeds played away at the Etihad, they, erm… lost 7-0.
Foden, Grealish, De Bruyne (2), Stones, Aké and Mahrez all got on the scoresheet and the result all but sealed the fate of then-head coach, Marcelo Bielsa.
Not even current Barça winger, Raphinha, was allowed to shine, with City running riot from minute one right through until the final whistle.
They've played once since then, a 1-3 away win for City just after Christmas: another easy win.
How things look for Leeds:
Look away, Leeds fans. The club are in free-fall, with Javi Gracia being given the boot earlier in the week after just 11 games in charge.
The club sit on the edge of the relegation zone, with just goal difference keeping their heads above water. But the failures from top to bottom have caused this, and most fans are in shock at the situation after finishing 9th just two seasons ago.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 34 | 34 | 9 | 7 | 18 |
| 16 | 30 | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 |
| 17 | 30 | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 |
| 18 | 30 | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 |
| 19 | 29 | 34 | 6 | 11 | 17 |
How the table looks: Man City
Things look pretty rosy for Manchester City, who sit top of the league after finally taking over long time leaders, Arsenal.
Guardiola’s side have hit form at the right time and look in imperious form, with a certain striker hunting down the goal records like a madman.
Their last loss came against Spurs way back on February 5 (when Spurs could actually win a game) and they’ve won 13 league games since then, drawing just one.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 79 | 33 | 25 | 4 | 4 |
| 2 | 78 | 34 | 24 | 6 | 4 |
| 3 | 65 | 33 | 18 | 11 | 4 |
| 4 | 63 | 33 | 19 | 6 | 8 |
| 5 | 59 | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 |
Let's take a look at the team news:
ManchesterCity: It’s pretty much all-systems-go for City, who will make De Bruyne undergo a late fitness test, although he should be OK to play.
***
Leeds United: Stuart Dallas and Tyler Adams are out with long-term injuries; captain Liam Cooper and Colombian winger Luis Sinisterra are also unavailable, with more short-term issues.
It's Joe here to guide you through the build-up, match coverage and aftermath of this clash that will have a huge impact at both ends of the table.
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the AS USA live coverage of Manchester City vs Leeds United in the Premier League, in what is definitely the biggest event to take place in the country today.