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Leeds United v Manchester City: Premier League – live
Key events
54 min: Calvert-Lewin scampers after Gruev’s shovelled pass down the left. He’s free. He’s also offside.
53 min: Silva slips Nunes into space down the right. Nunes crosses to the near post, where Marmoush makes a run to meet the ball. He flips it wide right. Marmoush hasn’t really managed to get involved.
52 min: City settle things down with some of the old possession.
50 min: Cherki’s stumble allows Leeds to counter at speed. Stach advances down the right and curls long for Calvert-Lewin, entering the box from the other flank. Calvert-Lewin takes a touch, sets himself, and shoots low. Nunes comes across to block at the expense of a corner. That corner leads to a long throw, which leads to Gudmundsson attempting a Robbie Fowler style long-distance looper towards the top-right corner. Miles over. But that blast of action will give Leeds succour.
48 min: Gudmundsson slaloms down the left and is nudged over by Rodri. The free kick is sent into the mixer and half cleared; Aaronson chests down but doesn’t have enough time to get a shot away.
47 min: A scrappy start to the half.
Manchester City get the second half started. No changes.
Half-time advertising break. The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
HALF TIME: Leeds United 0-1 Manchester City
Leeds were the better side for half an hour, but City slowly came back into it, applied some pressure, and got their reward seconds before the half-time whistle! They head down the tunnel with renewed spring in their step!
GOAL! Leeds United 0-1 Manchester City (Semenyo 45+2)
Leeds would have been the happier going into the break … but not now! All of a sudden, Cherki plays a glorious defence-splitter down the inside-left channel to release Ait-Nouri, who crosses dangerously this time! His low ball is poked into the bottom right by Semenyo’s extended leg, and City are ahead!
45 min: Ait-Nouri is released down the left by Marmoush, but nobody in City black can take the resulting low cross under control. There will be two additional minutes.
44 min: Calvert-Lewin cleverly chests a long pass into the path of Aaronson, but Dias reads the intention and gets in the way, just in time. A reminder that Leeds have carried plenty of threat this evening.
42 min: O’Reilly should have scored, really. But he’s not letting the miss get him down, and he takes control of a low left-wing cross with a gorgeous trap and spin. But he doesn’t quite manage to make enough space to get a shot away. Cherki sniffs around to see if he can poke goalwards but neither City player is able to achieve their goal. The visitors have finally woken up.
40 min: City finally get something on target. Nunes crosses from the right. O’Reilly, last weekend’s two-goal hero against Newcastle, powers his close-range header straight at Darlow, who nevertheless reacts magnificently to parry and clear. The ball pings out for a corner, from which nothing comes.
39 min: City press Leeds back. But then Stach steals the ball off a lumbering Rodri’s toes, and releases Aaonson down the inside-right channel. He’s free! But he’s unable to force the ball through Donnarumma and into the bottom-right corner. Then the flag pops up for offside anyway.
38 min: Nunes plays a ball down the right to nobody in particular. City have been strangely out of sorts. “Not that I know much about match report writing, but I suspect that Will Unwin already has a paragraph drafted about Leeds ruing missed chances,” begins Kári Tulinius. “Mind you, City are so weirdly characterless tonight that I would struggle to say anything coherent about their performance so far. They’ll need one of their players to make himself the report’s protagonist.”
37 min: City continue to pin Leeds back, but there’s no way through. On that subject, here’s Charles Antaki: “Man City not troubling the Leeds penalty area? So far, then, so good: Arsenal fans’ voodoo dolls, inverted pentangles and recitations from the Egyptian Book of the Dead working satisfactorily. Upside-down crucifixes and readings aloud from one of Dennis Wheatley’s more hysterical novels ready in reserve.”
35 min: City’s first corner of the evening. Cherki sends it in from the left, to no effect whatsoever. But the visitors are hauling themselves back into this, and 49 percent of the last five minutes has been played out in Leeds’ final third.
34 min: Silva is now getting the bird for having taken a toecap on the old nips. Such is the pantomime of football.
32 min: Gudmundsson and Silva wrestle near the corner flag down the City right. The former hooks a leg around the latter’s chest, and City’s captain goes down screaming. He doesn’t even get a free kick. Another slightly odd non-decision from the referee. Both teams have now benefitted from a couple of generous ones, so at least it’s evened out in that sense.
31 min: For the second time this evening, City are forced to stroke it around the back awhile, in order to slow things down and draw Leeds’ sting.
29 min: City probe down the right, but Rodri, Silva and Nunes are unable to work the usual defence-splitting triangles, and eventually a hopeful punt into the centre is easily cleared by Gudmundsson. Then Ait-Nouri has a look down the other flank but goes nowhere in particular. City are going nowhere in particular. Arsenal will be enjoying what they’ve seen so far.
27 min: Ampadu, tussling with O’Reilly down the right, clanks the ball out for a goal kick. Leeds are gifted a corner, but make nothing from it. Leeds need to score while the going is so good.
25 min: Gudmundsson is skittled wide left by Nunes. A free kick. Everyone lines up on the edge of the City box. The ball’s sent in. Calvert-Lewin wins a header but Justin can’t connect with the knock-down. The ball sails harmlessly wide left for a goal kick. Leeds are well on top here, and the xG is currently exactly 1-0.
24 min: Now it’s Bogle’s turn to be hassled, O’Reilly tearing off with the ball down the left. The whistle goes for a very soft free kick. Silva wags a finger at the referee, who has made one or two strange choices already.
22 min: Bogle hassles Ait-Nouri down the right, steals the ball, and crosses low. Guehi pokes the ball out for a corner, under pressure from Aaronson. Leeds don’t get their corner. But no matter, because Stach soon earns another one with a deflected shot. Nothing comes of the set piece, but City look ragged at the back and Leeds smell blood. This has been a really impressive start by Leeds.
20 min: To illustrate, Sky whack up a stat that show Leeds having taken seven touches in City’s box. City haven’t taken a single one in Leeds’. Pep prowls the touchline in slightly agitated fashion.
18 min: … and now Justin whistles a low drive towards the bottom left. Donnarumma claims, then bowls the ball out to Rodri, who is stripped of possession by Gruev. Illegally so, and the whistle goes for a free kick. Rodri springs up in a fury. A sign that Leeds have got under City’s skin. They’re not ceding an inch.
17 min: Struijk pings a long pass down the inside-left channel for Calvert-Lewin, who enters the box, twists and turns his way past Guehi, and whips a low shot across the face of goal and inches wide right. Leeds look really lively in attack.
15 min: Gudmundsson knocks the ball past Nunes down the left and backs himself in a footrace. He’s winning it when he’s clipped from behind. The referee inexplicably waves play on. That’s fortunate for Nunes, who probably should find himself in the book. But here we are. Gudmundsson not 100 percent happy.
14 min: We go again.
13 min: Play is stopped so the City players who are observing the holy period of Ramadan can break their fast by taking on some liquids. It’s the first moment of sunset.
12 min: Nunes turns on the gas and speeds down the right touchline. His low cross is hacked clear by Rodon. City are beginning to gain a foothold in this game.
10 min: City finally string a few passes together, slowing the game down a bit. They needed that.
8 min: Rodri slips Semenyo clear down the inside-right channel. Semenyo has Marmoush to his left, but opts to shoot instead. Wild. High. He was offside anyway. But there’s finally a reminder of City’s potency.
7 min: Daniel Farke will be delighted with the way his team have started this match. City haven’t been able to get their foot on the ball at all. Bogle, Aaronson and Calvert-Lewin combine at pace down the right and nearly open City up, but the last pass doesn’t come off and Ait-Nouri is able to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick.
5 min: Leeds have started well, Aaronson in particular. Now he fizzes a low ball from the right through the City six-yard box, but it’s just behind Calvert-Lewin. City need to clear their heads and quickly, because their hosts are not backward in coming forward.
4 min: Bogle plays Aaronson into acres of space down the right. He crosses low for Calvert-Lewin, who opens his body, six yards out, and … screws the ball wide left. Big miss, though there’s a fair chance VAR might have got involved for Calvert-Lewin’s clearing out of Guehi earlier in the move. But we’ll never know. All moot.
2 min: Rodri plays a loose pass to nobody in particular in the midfield. He’s very fortunate that Gruev isn’t able to control the ball and launch a counter. Rodri has been really off it since his return.
Leeds get the ball rolling. And they’re on the front foot immediately, Aaronson advancing down the right and claiming to have been fouled on the edge of the box by Ait-Nouri. But there’s nothing doing there.
Here come the teams! Leeds wear white, just as The Don decreed all those years ago. Manchester City in second-choice black, as per their Puma contract. A rare old atmosphere at Elland Road, as there always is, the home fans Marching On Together. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
Sky have also just flashed up an intriguing stat that we may as well nick bears repeating. As mentioned in the preamble, during half time of the corresponding fixture in Manchester last November, Daniel Farke switched things around, changing to a back three, and nearly pulled off a great comeback …
… and while the tinkering didn’t bear fruit that day, it’s now seen as a pivotal point in Leeds’ efforts to beat the drop. Since then – and here’s the killer stat – only seven teams have picked up more points than Leeds: Arsenal, City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Chelsea and Brentford. That is not bad going, and Farke’s seat is a lot less hot, his coat-peg less shoogly, as a result.
It’s Daniel Farke’s turn to talk to Sky Sports. “The lads have delivered really well in the last away game … if they deliver they have a good chance to start the next game … we face a top, world-class side … they desperately need every point in the title race … in every detail we have to make hopefully a tight game … of course I prefer that [Haaland] is away from selection but it doesn’t take anything away from their class and strength.”
The 3pms have all finished. Here’s your classified check.
Looks like a good edition of Match of the Day tonight, huh? Liverpool are just a speck in Manchester City’s rear-view mirror, so their slightly flattering win over West Ham doesn’t really affect Pep Guardiola’s men. But it’s a boost for Daniel Farke’s team as the Hammers fail to chip into Leeds’ cushion at the bottom. See also: Burnley, who were a couple of inches away from completing one of the great comebacks, only for Brentford to recover their poise and reclaim all the points instead. Emillia Hawkins has all of the details in today’s Clockwatch.
Pep Guardiola speaks to Sky, and confirms that Erling Haaland only has a minor knock. “Two days ago … the last moment of training … some problem there … a little injury … not a big issue but he’s not ready for today … we miss one top striker, we’re playing with another top striker … we are not consistent in many parts … many, many new players … we arrive in the last part of the season being there … this is a really tough place to come … Daniel [Farke] is a top manager.”
Will Unwin is on point for the Guardian at Elland Road this afternoon. Allow him to set the scene.
The sun is still shining above Elland Road, where Leeds are boosted by the news that Erling Haaland will not feature against his hometown club. He is “not fully fit” after suffering an injury in training two days ago and that is all we know.
City have won their past three games as they try to chase down Arsenal at the top of the table. Victory today will put the gap down to two points prior to the Gunners facing Chelsea tomorrow, in what could be a very difficult afternoon for them. Omar Marmoush and Antoine Semenyo will likely play as wide forwards, giving Leeds a very different prospect to what they were planning for. It could be a fascinating battle.
A reminder what happened to these lads this time last week.
Leeds United are going well, just one defeat in their last eight games, so if it ain’t broke, etc. They name the same XI that started the 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.
Manchester City’s big news: there’s no Erling Haaland. Rayan Cherki takes his starting spot, the only change from the 2-1 win over Newcastle United last weekend. Haaland picked up a knock in training during the week, though his absence today is reportedly more precautionary than anything, and he’s expected back for the Nottingham Forest game during the week.
The teams
Leeds United: Darlow, Bogle, Justin, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson, Stach, Ampadu, Gruev, Aaronson, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Gnonto, Bornauw, Tanaka, Bijol, Nmecha, Piroe, Longstaff, James, Lucas Perri.
Manchester City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait Nouri, Rodri, Semenyo, Silva, O’Reilly, Cherki, Marmoush.
Subs: Foden, Khusanov, Savio, Gonzalez, Doku, Ake, Stones, Reijnders, Trafford.
Referee: Peter Bankes
VAR: Paul Howard
Preamble
The title race is well and truly on. Leeds United should be a sight for sore eyes for Manchester City, who have won the last five meetings between the clubs to the cumulative tune of 19-4. But Leeds have been a resilient bunch this season (except for the curious exception of when playing Arsenal, who have beaten them 5-0 and 4-0): they’re currently unbeaten in four, a sequence that includes draws at Chelsea and Aston Villa, and City needed a last-minute Phil Foden winner to see them off at the Etihad last November, a game in which Daniel Farke’s side levelled from two goals down, the half-time changes made that day now seen as a pivotal point in their season.
So this is no gimme. Not least because Leeds are staying up, so may regard this game as a free swing for David against Goliath; City meanwhile are desperate to close the gap on Arsenal and don’t have so much wriggle room to spare. Could be a Saturday night spectacular. Kick-off is at 5.30pm GMT. It, like the title race, is on!
