Nick Ames was at Elland Road tonight. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Jesse Marsch adds: “Our fans were outstanding. The best performance of the night was our fans! But the reason they were so into the match was they could see our boys played well. Of course, 4-0 doesn’t feel good, but it doesn’t feel like a 4-0 match. I think we had some big chances, we contained a lot of the things they tried to do. On another day, at 1-0 or 2-0 if we found a way to get a goal, we’d make the game more interesting. You do see City’s quality in some of those moments. Before the match we wanted to have a good performance, and that’s what we had. The scoreline was worse than I wanted, but the performance was better than I wanted. We’re making progress.”
He also reports that the Stuart Dallas injury “hurts, because we think it’s probably not good”. He’s “hopeful” that Liam Cooper is “not so bad, he just felt something in his knee that didn’t feel right”.
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Pep Guardiola talks to Sky. “We suffered a lot in the first half. But after the second goal we had control and we could have scored more goals. It’s an incredible result for us, so important. Leeds are so fast, with pace and quality up front, and it was so important to make our chance to be champion again. We defended well. Sometimes set pieces are so important, with Nathan Ake on the pitch we are really strong. What a game Laporte played. He played an incredible game. We have five games, potentially six, to end the season. I prefer to feel the pressure than don’t feel it; it means we have a chance to do it.”
Ilkay Gundogan talks to Sky Sports. “It was a huge test. Leeds started with a lot of intensity. They made our lives difficult. The first goal helped us a lot, but still in the first half they were more than in the game. After the second one, we were able to move the ball better, quicker, and created more chances. At the end of the day it’s a very good result for us. The pressure is on to win all the games. It looks as though both teams might not struggle until the end. Every game is a final now.”
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That’s a huge win for City, though the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story. They were made to work hard by a Leeds side desperate for the points themselves, and could - perhaps should - have fallen behind when Cancelo’s early slip let in Rodrigo, who should have teed up Raphinha. That was Leeds’ big chance, and City went on to take advantage of Cooper’s late withdrawal to score twice from set pieces, after which it was all over. The champions stretched away, as they reclaimed pole position in the race for their title. Leeds remain in relegation bother, though that performance, rather than the result, should give them a boost as they battle to save themselves.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 34 | 63 | 83 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 34 | 64 | 82 |
| 16 | Burnley | 34 | -15 | 34 |
| 17 | Leeds | 34 | -34 | 34 |
| 18 | Everton | 32 | -21 | 29 |
FULL TIME: Leeds United 0-4 Manchester City
City go back to the top of the Premier League in - eventually, though it took a while - emphatic style!
GOAL! Leeds United 0-4 Manchester City (Fernandinho 90+3)
Sterling goes over in the box. He wants a penalty but he’s not getting one, and he doesn’t care, because the ball breaks to Fernandinho, who threads a shot towards the bottom left. Meslier should save it, but his wrist cocks back and the ball flies into the net.
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90 min +1: Greenwood tears down the right and pulls back for Gelhardt, who slides in to slam goalwards. Ederson blocks wonderfully with his feet, refusing to give up his clean sheet.
90 min: Gundogan heads wide right wastefully from six yards. There will be three added minutes.
89 min: Grealish jinks down the left, reaches the byline, and digs out a cross. Meslier claims, again keeping things respectable. Leeds go up the other end and nearly grab a consolation, James rounding Ederson on the right only for Cancelo to block on the line. From the minute Liam Cooper pulled up injured in the warm-up, it’s fair to say this hasn’t been Leeds’ day.
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87 min: Silva slips Cancelo into an absurd amount of space down the right. Cancelo enters the box and should make it four, but slams his shot straight into Meslier’s chest.
85 min: City ping it around with the confidence of a team who have just come through a huge test. Easy to forget how difficult they found things during the first half.
83 min: Fernandinho comes on for Rodri, while for Leeds, Greenwood replaces Rodrigo.
82 min: The Leeds fans are giving it plenty, despite the scoreline. They’ve seen enough today that’ll give them hope in the battle against relegation. Meanwhile, regarding matters up the other end, Joe Pearson writes: “So, Liverpool’s chance to win the league comes down to Steven Gerrard in the final game?” Could be. Plenty of opportunity for slip-ups twists and turns before that, mind.
80 min: Having completed the job, Foden gets his reward. Pep allows him to put his feet up, replacing him with Silva.
GOAL! Leeds United 0-3 Manchester City (Jesus 78)
All of City’s goals have been super-simple, and this one is no different. Ederson launches a ball down the right for Cancelo, who chests inside for Foden. A glorious defence-splitting ball sends Jesus clear down the middle. One touch, slam, game over!
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77 min: Thing is, though, Ederson still hasn’t seriously had his hands warmed.
75 min: Fair play to Leeds, who still haven’t turned it in. After a post-second-goal lull, they’ve come back into this, and have enjoyed 78 percent possession during the last five minutes. Can you guess how happy Pep is with this state of affairs? Answers on a scrunched-up bit of card.
73 min: A corner on the left leads to a corner on the right. Raphinha is incredulous as he’s pelted with card boulders by his own fans! Then some hectic pinball in the City box, Harrison having a couple of half-chances to shoot closed down by a resolute defence. City clear their lines eventually.
72 min: Raphinha embarks on a determined dribble down the inside-right channel and makes it all the way into the box. He drops a shoulder and shoots, but Laporte gets over to block. Corner.
70 min: Rodrigo has another chance to slip someone clear, romping down the left but refusing to roll infield for Gelhardt. The hesitation costs Leeds again, as the play’s switched and Raphinha flays witlessly into the stand behind the goal. Leeds haven’t carved out great chances, as such, but they’ve had some very promising situations that a more assured team would develop.
68 min: Jesse Marsch is booked for the antics of his backroom team. Then Cancelo sees yellow for a garden-variety block on Rodrigo. This referee has pleased nobody this evening.
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67 min: Chances inside the box for Foden and Gundogan, as Leeds begin to look a little ragged. The home side block them. Zinchenko blazes over from distance.
66 min: Leeds are a shadow of their first-half selves. That huge early chance for Rodrigo to tee up Raphinha feels like an awfully long time ago now. Come at the king, you best not miss.
64 min: Cancelo strides forward and slips Sterling in down the right. Sterling crosses for Foden, who prepares to head home from close range. Koch gets back to conceded a corner, just in time. Leeds deal with this one, and attempt to counter, a long ball sent towards Gelhardt. Ederson races miles out of his box to blooter clear. That’s A1 sweeper-keeping.
62 min: Firpo makes way for Gelhardt.
61 min: Grealish dances in from the left and lays off to Gundogan, who sends a curler towards the top right. It’s always going high and wide.
60 min: Ake has picked up a knock and is replaced by Zinchenko. His work this evening was already complete.
58 min: A corner out on the left for City. Grealish goes over to take it, and to his immense credit, laughs warmly as more of those cardboard balls ping off the top of his head. Nothing comes of the corner when it’s eventually taken.
56 min: City are surely going back to the top of the table this evening now. They’ve stood firm against the Leeds whirlwind, and now have a cushion that should see them home. “We’re not really here,” trill the away fans, who can sense the title getting ever closer. The City bench celebrate as well, knowing full well how big these three points will be.
GOAL! Leeds United 0-2 Manchester City (Ake 54)
Cancelo worries Leeds down the right. His low cross is hoicked out for a corner by Ayling. Foden hits it long from the right. Dias heads down at the far stick, teeing up Ake, who sweeps into the bottom left. Easy as that!
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52 min: Jesus sends Sterling scampering clear down the right. Sterling makes it into the box and skips past a couple of challenges, before taking a shot that’s blocked by the sliding Koch. Grealish has a dig from the left, and nearly hits the corner flag on the right. The Leeds fans enjoyed that.
51 min: Rodrigo floats a cross into the City box from the left. Ederson claims under pressure from Harrison. Leeds come again down the same wing, but Klich, Harrison and Rodrigo try to complete their triangular combinations too quickly, and lose control needlessly.
49 min: City enjoy some sterile possession for the first time in a while. Safe to say their manager might have had a stern word during the break.
47 min: Grealish is pelted with more of the scrunched-up card. We’re obliged to say this is awful behaviour from the Leeds fans, but laughter is involuntary sometimes, what you gonna do. Grealish nearly delivers payback in equally hilarious style, though, tearing with grace down the left and firing a ball through the Leeds six-yard box that’s simply begging to be trundled home. But neither Jesus nor Sterling had kept up. Grealish looks more aggrieved by this, to be fair.
Leeds get the second half underway. No changes. They immediately launch an attack down the left, Firpo making good ground before floating a weak cross into the stand behind the goal. An early statement of intent by the hosts, though.
Half-time entertainment. Some peerless prose concerning both ends of the table.
HALF TIME: Leeds United 0-1 Manchester City
A half which had been a lot of fun comes to a downbeat end. It’s not often you get to say this, so you might as well take your opportunity now: this scoreline slightly flatters Manchester City. But they’re reigning champions for a reason. As things stand, they’re going back to the top of the table, while Leeds remain five points off the relegation places.
45 min +7: James comes on for the stricken Dallas, who departs to warm applause, covering his eyes.
45 min +6: “There’s only one Stuart Dallas,” chant the Leeds supporters, as the medical staff carefully load the Leeds man onto the stretcher. Dallas knew something was wrong the minute he crashed to the floor, and waved to his bench. An awfully sad scene.
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45 min +4: Dallas went into that challenge in the no-nonsense style, and might have damaged his knee. His team-mates look extremely concerned, Phillips holding his hand as the stretcher comes on.
45 min +3: Dallas and Grealish crash into each other at 101 miles per hour. Dallas was a millisecond late, and might have done himself some damage here.
45 min +2: For a team looking over their shoulder at the relegation places, Leeds have been impressive with their front-foot confidence, actual scoreline notwithstanding.
45 min: A second goal before half-time would change City’s mood all right, and they’ve got four additional minutes in which to find it.
44 min: Grealish is ranting and raving at anyone who will listen. He’s expected a couple of free kicks that haven’t been awarded, and has lost the nut. Pep Guardiola is trying to calm him down, to little effect so far. City are leading, and they’re not rattled exactly, but they’re not particularly happy right now.
42 min: Ayling ships possession on the edge of his own box. Jesus and Sterling over-elaborate instead of combining to score. Then there’s a bit of penalty-box pinball, before Leeds eventually clear their lines.
41 min: Raphinha dribbles at pace down the middle. He’s tugged lightly by Laporte and pulls up, expecting a free kick that doesn’t come. The home fans deliver a trenchant critique of Paul Tierney’s refereeing ability.
40 min: Raphinha robs Ake in the middle of the park and barrels off down the right with Dallas by his side. The pair combine to earn a corner. Everyone floods into the City box. Ederson comes out and flaps at the corner. The ball’s worked wide right to Raphinha, who fires low into the mixer. City clear their lines, but they’re looking uncharacteristically flustered right now.
38 min: Leeds are playing well at the minute, but here’s a reminder that City could take this game away from them in a flash. Foden, out on the right, creams a diagonal pass towards Jesus, who scampers in from the left wing and sends a low shot straight at Meslier. For a split second there, a goal looked on the cards.
37 min: Raphinha romps down the right and enters the City box. He thinks about curling one goalwards, but dithers, and when he tries to roll across for Dallas, the chance is gone. But Leeds come back at City again, Klich barging down the left and crossing. Gundogan heads clear under pressure.
36 min: Leeds have enjoyed 50 percent of possession in the last ten minutes. It’s not often that Manchester City are forced to share.
35 min: Raphinha’s right-wing cross is only half cleared by Cancelo, and Firpo suddenly finds himself in a bit of space, just inside the box on the left, with the ball at his feet. He sends an ambitious screamer over the bar. He should have looped into the centre for Rodrigo. City don’t look totally comfortable here.
33 min: Phillips plays a diagonal ball to Raphinha on the right touchline. Raphinha scampers into the box before losing control. City clear, but that’s energised the crowd. Leeds are still up for this, and haven’t let the early goal ruin their mood.
31 min: Grealish drops a shoulder to get past Ayling down the left. Ayling clips him, but Grealish tries to stay on his feet. Bad decision, because when he eventually goes over, Leeds are able to clear, the referee having played a spurious advantage.
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29 min: Sterling is stopped in his tracks down the right. Another free kick that Leeds question. Foden takes, and plays a slider down the inside-right channel. Nobody in no-logo City dark blue reads his intention, and Meslier gathers without fuss.
27 min: Grealish probes down the left to little effect. Leeds have a chance to counter but Klich hoicks a pass straight into the back of his own man Harrison. These half-opportunities should give Leeds a little succour, though. City look slightly vulnerable when Leeds take on their press.
25 min: Ake handballs as Leeds try to clear their lines. An attempt by the hosts to counter breaks down immediately, then City win a corner. Leeds are furious, arguing that they didn’t get much of an advantage. But there it is. Fortunately for those who tire easily of confected controversy, nothing comes of the corner.
24 min: A brief clear-up job comes to an end, and the game restarts.
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23 min: Play is stopped again as more balls of paper and coloured card rain down from the stand. With Leeds losing, the home fans are making their own fun. “You have to make the most of those moments,” sighs Jeremy Boyce of that early Leeds break. “Rodrigo seems to have zero confidence and is the antithesis of Benzema whose confidence seems to be sky high. As a lifelong Nasties fan I can tell you I am expecting a Sky Blue spanking tonight, not many fingernails left already and still four more scary games to play.”
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22 min: Rodrigo and Klich combine at speed in the centre circle. Klich should send Raphinha clear down the right with a sliderule pass, but clanks it out for a throw. Raphinha had gone too early, as well, the flag going up for offside. Another good situation squandered by the hosts.
20 min: Both players are given the OK to continue. It’s slightly surprising, especially in the case of Laporte, who was motionless for the best part of two minutes. But they fight on.
19 min: Both men are back up, but the medical staff continue to do their checks. As for the contentious free kick, replays show Dallas definitely got a bit of the ball when he challenged Sterling, though he checked his man as well. You can make an argument either way. Jesse Marsch was certainly displeased.
17 min: Laporte had collided with Koch, and both have stayed down. Neither look in particularly good nick.
15 min: The free kick comes to nought, but Leeds come again through Raphinha on the left. Raphinha whips to the near post, where Laporte clears, taking a whack on the head for his trouble. On comes the trainer.
14 min: Grealish is booked for sliding through the back of Dallas, out on the right. A suggestion by the Sky commentary team, incidentally, that the City free kick that led to the opening goal was a tad harsh, Dallas having got a portion of the ball. There will be opinions on the internet.
GOAL! Leeds United 0-1 Manchester City (Rodri 13)
Foden’s delivery is something here, though! He sends an outswinger across the front of the six-yard box. Rodri steps into the gap where Liam Cooper had expected to be, before the Leeds captain was injured in the warm-up, and steers a gentle header into the bottom right. Simple as that!
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12 min: Dallas checks Sterling as he makes his way down the Leeds left. A free kick in a dangerous position. Everyone lines up on the edge of the Leeds box. Foden to take.
10 min: Sterling dribbles down the right and wins a corner. As Foden prepares to take it, he’s bombarded by huge boulders of scrunched-up paper in the classroom style. He flings one over his shoulder and back into the stand. That proves a better delivery than his corner. Leeds clear their lines.
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9 min: Foden goes down and fancies a free kick. He was clipped by Ayling, but he’s not getting the decision, and becomes quite livid. City are beginning to establish their usual dominance.
7 min: Foden dribbles down the inside-right channel and is hauled back by Firpo. A free kick, and an early booking for the Leeds left back, who now has 83 minutes of walking on eggshells stretching out in front of him. Ake heads harmlessly over the bar from the free kick.
5 min: Well, that would have shaken a few things up. Had Rodrigo passed when he should have, Raphinha would have been one on one with Ederson, 12 yards out. Will they live to regret that? Possibly. Probably.
3 min: Cancelo and Sterling combine down the right, the latter winning the first corner of the game. The hosts clear, and Cancelo slips in the centre circle! He’s the last man, and Rodrigo is able to tear down the left. He’s got Raphinha clear in the middle, but takes one touch too many, and when he finally attempts to tee up his team-mate, Gundogan has got back to block. What a chance for Leeds to take a shock lead!
2 min: A rare old atmosphere generated by the home fans. They’re marching on together all right. The visiting support are doing pretty well to make snatches of Blue Moon heard amid the hubbub.
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City get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes a knee. There’s no room for racism.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Leeds United v Manchester City - Elland Road, Leeds, Britain - April 30, 2022 Leeds United’s Stuart Dallas in action with Manchester City’s Jack Grealish Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images/Reuters
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The teams are out! Leeds are in their Real Madrid inspired white shirts, which may or may not cause the visitors some brief disquiet after Tuesday’s turmoil. Manchester City sport the no-badge outrage foisted on them by their kit supplier. We’ll be off in a minute, after a quick blast of Marching On Together.
Jesse Marsch talks to Sky. “We have to play courageous. We haven’t had our best performances with the ball. We need to be aggressive, even against a team like this. We have to be clear which areas we want to make difficult for them and how to limit them. This is a very difficult task in general, but we will not just sit back. We will try to be aggressive at the right times, and also try to be dangerous. We are in control of our own destiny, and have to focus on us. We have to stop focusing on what’s happening around us. The more we take care of our own business, the better chance we have.”
Pep Guardiola adds: “All my career, when we play every few days a lot of games, everybody has to be involved. The line-up is a fantastic one. You have to win all the games to be champion, nothing changes from a few hours ago. We know exactly what we have to do.”
Yep, Cooper can’t play. His place in the Leeds starting line-up will be taken by Mateusz Klich.
Leeds captain Liam Cooper appears to have hurt his knee during the warm-up. He’s rubbing it quite a lot and shaking his head in a mixture of pain and irritation. Nothing confirmed yet, but if he can’t play, that’s a huge blow for the hosts ahead of this game.
A huge afternoon at the bottom of the table. Burnley were losing at Watford with seven minutes to go, only for Jack Cork and Josh Brownhill to score two goals in three minutes for the rejuvenated Clarets! It’s an astonishing turnaround that all but relegates Watford ... and sends Norwich City, who lost 2-0 at Aston Villa, down today. Everton are now five points from safety, while the heat’s turned up a little further on Leeds as well, with Burnley leapfrogging them into 16th.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Burnley | 34 | -15 | 34 |
| 17 | Leeds | 33 | -30 | 34 |
| 18 | Everton | 32 | -21 | 29 |
| 19 | Watford | 34 | -37 | 22 |
| 20 | Norwich | 34 | -48 | 21 |
Leeds United make three changes to the XI named for the goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Monday. Junior Firpo, Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk come in for Diego Llorente, Daniel James and Mateusz Klich, all of whom drop to the bench.
Manchester City make five changes to the team sent out for the 4-3 victory over Real Madrid last Tuesday. Joao Cancelo, Raheem Sterling, Ilkay Gundogan, Nathan Ake and Jack Grealish step up; Kevin De Bruyne, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez drop to the bench, while John Stones is injured.
The teams
Leeds United: Meslier, Ayling, Struijk, Cooper, Firpo, Koch, Raphinha, Dallas, Phillips, Harrison, Rodrigo.
Subs: Klaesson, Llorente, James, Bate, Gelhardt, Cresswell, Greenwood, Klich, Shackleton.
Manchester City: Ederson, Joao Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Ake, Rodri, Gundogan, Grealish, Foden, Sterling, Gabriel Jesus.
Subs: Zinchenko, Steffen, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Egan-Riley, Mbete-Tabu, McAtee.
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire).
Preamble
Earlier on this happened ...
... which meant this happened ...
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 34 | 64 | 82 |
| 2 | Man City | 33 | 59 | 80 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 33 | 40 | 66 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 32 | -4 | 37 |
| 16 | Leeds | 33 | -30 | 34 |
| 17 | Burnley | 33 | -16 | 31 |
... and now it’s Manchester City’s turn to respond. Leeds need something themselves, for vastly different reasons. Could be a humdinger at Elland Road! Kick off is at 5.30pm. It’s on!
