Two-goal hero Ilkay Gundogan walked into a blast from furious boss Pep Guardiola after missing a late penalty that almost opened the door for a Leeds comeback on Saturday.
The Manchester City star put City in control with two identical first half goals at the Etihad. But when Phil Foden was fouled by Pascal Struijk late on, usual penalty taker Erling Haaland handed his skipper Gundogan the ball to clinch his hat-trick.
Leeds keeper Joel Robles tipped the ball onto the post leaving Guardiola to tell Haaland: "You’ve got to take it". Seconds later, Leeds broke away to score through substitute Rodrigo to spark a dramatic finale, as victory saw City leapfrog Arsenal at the top.
Gundogan told reporters: "First he [Guardiola] showed to Erling that he was quite mad about that, and then also he had a go at me. It is what it is, at the end. The moment Erling grabbed the ball, I was sure he was going to take it but he looked out for me.
"I checked with him a few times to make sure he was sure. He was certain to hand the ball to me, and I was confident to score.
"We should have scored a third. This is sometimes how it is that they go on the counter and score. But we dealt quite well with it and deserved the three points."
What did you make of Manchester City's performance against Leeds? Let us know in the comments below!
Saturday's 2-1 win leaves City four points clear of Arsenal with just four Premier League games to go. Arsenal can close the gap by winning at St James' Park on Sunday, but that will be difficult considering Newcastle's form. Eddie Howe's side are third in the table.
Guardiola added: "The game was not over. It shows how nice and generous Erling is. If it is 4-0 with 10 minutes left, OK. But at 2-0? Erling is the best penalty taker right now, so he has to take it. If Gundo scores, everyone is 'OK, hat-trick, well done'.
"But a taker is a taker. Erling is the specialist. At 2-0, this is a business, not a situation where we cannot forget it. Before the last minutes we played an exceptional game but maybe we were not as clinical as we should be."
Although City are the red-hot favourites for the title, they face a difficult run in. Their next Premier League game is at Goodison Park, with Everton battling to stay up. They also have to travel to Brighton and Brentford, as well as a home game against Chelsea.
City are still in the Champions League, with a gruelling two-legged semi-final against holders Real Madrid on the horizon. The first leg takes place in Manchester on Tuesday. If City progress, they will face either Inter Milan or AC Milan in Istanbul on June 10.
Guardiola also has an FA Cup final to prepare for, as his side take on local rivals Manchester United at Wembley on June 3. Erik ten Hag's team will be desperate to win to stop City from clinching a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble.
