28/2/26 Leeds United 0 Manchester City 1: White have positives but no points to take when anger subsides — Yorkshire Post

By Stuart Rayner

For the second time against Manchester City, Leeds United were able to take encouragement, if not points. Just as well that unlike in late November, they have a bit of a cushion for moral victories.

Not that they looked very happy with their lot at full-time as Daniel Farke was red-carded for getting in the face of referee Peter Bankes, and Pep Guardiola – having already taunted the home fans with a blown kiss – stepped in to separate the players.

City won 1-0 thanks to an Antoine Semenyo goal, but had Leeds been a little more ruthless it could have been them celebrating at full-time.

As it was, they pushed Guardiola's title-chasers right to the end, going at them with a 4-4-2 led by two big strikers in the final stages.

The Whites were able to take a new tactical blueprint from their pre-Christmas trip to Eastlands. This game did not throw up that, just reassurance that their new ways of working are panning out reasonably well.

They could have dropped the word "reasonably" with some better finishing.

As it was, their excellent first-half display was hit by a sucker-punch right at the end of it.

Boosted by results beforehand, with West Ham United losing at Liverpool and Burnley suffering a 4-3 defeat in the most crushing way possible, Leeds came flying out of the blocks, pressing in Manchester City faces.

The visitors 4-2-2-2 matched up well against Leeds' 3-4-2-1, setting up two-on-two battles down the middle of the park which the Whites had the better of early on.

But they missed their chances.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin had a cast-iron one from Brenden Aaronson's ball in after three minutes, but put it wide.

Calvert-Lewin ran onto a 17th-minute ball over the top and engineered space for a shot. He put it between Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma, but it trickled just beyond the far post.

Ilia Gruev's shot from outside the area forced Donnarumma into a low save.

Aaronson could point to a deflection when his 21st-minute effort went wide after Jayden Bogle kept the ball alive by pressing Rayan Ait-Nouri into giving up the ball deep, but there were no such excuses for his next miss, after 40 minutes.

Anton Stach won the ball in midfield and perfectly weighted a pass to send the American through but with one of his touches just a tad heavy, Donnarumma was able to come off his line and save with shins.

Within seconds City had their first and second shots of the game, Karl Darlow saving low from Omar Marmoush, then high from Nathaniel O'Reilly's header.

City had been building pressure for a good 10 minutes or so, and just as it looked like the teams would go in at 0-0, they struck.

Ait-Nouri got in behind and rolled the ball across for Semenyo, who ran between Joe Rodon and the occupied Pascal Struijk and stretched onto the tap-in.

Leeds came back for more after the break, without ever convincing that an equaliser was on it way. But the same could be said of an Erling Haaland-less City getting a second.

Matheus Nunes needed to make a good block to stop Leeds breaking on them in the 49tyh minute, Stach and Bogle linking well down the right when the visitors gave them the ball. The German's ball picked out Calvert-Lewin in space at the far post, but by the time he shot, Nunes had shut it down.

Gabriel Gudmundsson volleyed wide under pressure shortly afterwards., just as Marmoush would put an effort wide when he ran onto a Nunes cross.

Gruev was thankful to Joe Rodon in the 59th for closing down Semenyo after the Leeds midfielder had given the ball away to Rayan Cherki shortly after being slyly stamped on by him.

If there was a point to video assistant referees, that would be it. If.

Leeds had another escape quickly on the back of it, Ethan Ampadu giving the ball to Ruben Dias. When the ball came back to the defender his shot was so bad it became a pass Marmoush ought to have put on target.

Nouri shot wide after a lovely ball from Cherki.

Darlow made a wonderful stretching save from Guehi.

Leeds had to throw something back and having already brought on Lukas Nmecha, they added two wingers in Daniel James and Willy Gnonto and made the closing stages more chaotic, just as Leeds would have hoped. Joel Piroe would follow too, as Leeds wrenched the kitchen sink from its fittings.

The best chance it threw up came with Jajka Bijol's first touch as the substitute ran onto the pitch and onto a corner he headed wide in the 87th minute.

Leeds made City seriously sweat. You do not get points for that, but you certainly get encouragement. After the day out Arsenal had at Elland Road weeks earlier, that will have to do.

They did not look happy about it when the full-time whistle blew, but maybe they will reflect better on it when they calm down.