Manchester City 1-2 Leeds United
When Leeds United mustered their first effort on target after a lengthy 41 minutes, it was the longest they had waited for a shot in a Premier League match all season.
Of course, they only went and scored it which meant that, after being under the cosh against the champions elect, Marcelo Bielsa’s side had a surprise lead at the Etihad Stadium.
Surely, though, they could not go onto produce one of the shocks of the season against a Manchester City side needing just four more wins to be crowned champions, following a fine 2-0 win at Leicester last time out in the Premier League?
When, just minutes later, Leeds captain Liam Cooper went in high on Gabriel Jesus and, following an initial yellow card, VAR intervened and the skipper was dismissed, it would have taken an even braver man to assess the SBOTOP Premier League betting odds and tip the visitors to preserve their lead.
Highlights of the game
How times have changed.
This was a first top flight league meeting between the sides in Manchester since Christmas 2003 when the sides played out a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium in what was City’s first season in their new ground.
Since then, Leeds have been out of the top flight for all bar one campaign.
Of course, Leeds produced one of their best showings of the season in October when they held them to a 1-1 draw at Elland Road when club record signing Rodrigo cancelled out Raheem Sterling’s opener.
Sterling was one of seven changes Pep Guardiola made to the side that started against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in midweek with Fernandinho captaining the team and centre back Nathan Ake making his first start since Boxing Day.
Leeds were without on-loan winger Jack Harrison, ineligible to face his parent club, so Helder Costa came in for his first start in a month.
Leeds won the Yorkshire derby last weekend and, if there were any lingering doubts, it was a victory which will ensure they play in the top flight again next season.
To a degree, that meant the pressure was off them at kick-off and, while City dominated possession, the visitors were rarely threatened during the opening 45 minutes.
The closest to a goal was when Ferran Torres saw a shot blocked by Cooper before Sterling dragged an effort narrowly wide of the left post.
Then, four minutes before the break, Costa cut inside and found Patrick Bamford and the striker teed up Stuart Dallas whose clean shot rolled in off the inside of the post.
It was Bamford’s last meaningful contribution as he was sacrificed following Cooper’s dismissal moments later.
In fact, City would have been level by the break but for a fine save from Illan Meslier who kept out Oleksandar Zinchenko and an even better stop to stop Sterling’s rebound.
Into the second half and, despite being pushed back for long spells, Leeds kept out the hosts who went closest though Bernardo Silva.
It could not last and, with quarter of an hour remaining, Fernandinho slipped the ball through to Silva and he teed up Torres who placed the ball first time into the bottom left corner.
I suspected there would only be one winner now, especially after Ederson showed neat footwork to tackle his Brazilian compatriot Raphinha in a rare Leeds break.
But no! A minute into stoppage time and from Ezgjan Alioski’s delivery, Dallas made a surging run into the box and got in behind John Stones and Fernandinho to coolly slip home the winner.
For City, it barely matters. They may have been in second gear at times but it is only a matter of time before the title is sewen up.
For Leeds, however, surely the moment in their 2020/21 Premier League highlights compilation and a victory for Bielsa against a compatriot who so admires him.
Key statistics
This was Leeds’s first victory away at City since winning 4-0 at Maine Road in January 2001.
Leeds have become just the fourth promoted side to win away against the Premier League leaders in the competition’s history, after Ipswich at Norwich in December 1992, Derby at Man Utd in April 1997 and Hull City at Arsenal in September 2008.
City had been unbeaten in 41 home matches against newly-promoted sides until today, a run going back to a 2-0 defeat by Reading in February 2007.
Bielsa’s side are yet to draw a Premier League away fixture this season (won eight, lost eight).
They have now won three consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since 2002-03 under Terry Venables.
Cooper is the first player to be sent off for Leeds in a Premier League game since Mark Viduka v Bolton in May 2004.
When Ilkay Gundogan came on as a 58th minute substitute, he became the fourth player to reach 200 appearances for City in all competitions under Guardiola after Sterling, Kevin de Bruyne and Fernandinho.
What’s next?
City now go to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night (April 14) for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final. It’s then an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley next weekend.
Leeds’ schedule is nothing like as hectic. They are next in action at home to deposed champions Liverpool a week on Monday (April 19).
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