Leeds vs Man City LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction tonight
Follow all the action as Pep Guardiola’s men look to return to the top of the Premier League table with victory at Elland Road
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Louise Thomas
Editor
There was spirit, there was fight, there were a lot of screwed-up balls of paper, but ultimately nothing that Elland Road threw at Manchester City could prevent the defending champions from securing a comfortable 4-0 victory which returned them to the top of the Premier League table and left Leeds languishing at the other end, now only one place above the relegation zone.
Leeds were bold and boisterous but always second-best. Jesse Marsch’s side were a test for City initially but let themselves down with slack defending on set-pieces for the first two goals, converted by Rodri and Nathan Aké. Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho then helped close the gap to Liverpool’s goal difference. City remain one point clear and are now only one goal short of their rivals on the tiebreaker.
There were periods where Pep Guardiola’s side were far from their sparkling best. The first half was combative, a little ugly and threatened to get out of hand at times as referee Paul Tierney struggled to take control. Throughout the 90 minutes, Jack Grealish was playfully pelted with balls of paper left over from a pre-match ‘Yorkshire’ tifo. It was more than a little disruptive and this was more of a battle for City than the final scoreline suggests.
Follow all the reaction from a crunch match at Elland Road below:
Leeds 0-1 Man City
42 mins: Ederson comes a long way to punch the corner away. Koch lobs it back in over the top of Ederson but Laporte is back to clear away.
Man City on the ropes just now. They need to ride out this storm and get to the break.
Leeds 0-1 Man City
40 mins: It’s as if the first half hour of action was Leeds conserving their energy for the final 15 minutes of the half. They are now full of running, full of pressing, full of belief.
Raphinha wins the ball in the middle of the park and plays a neat one-two with Dallas before forcing a corner.
Leeds 0-1 Man City
38 mins: Raphinha drives down the right and tries to find Dallas who has bombed on into the box but the pass to him is easy for Ake to intercept.
Leeds have it back again though. Klich clips a cross towards the back post which Gundogan does well to head clear.
Man City then break as Cancelo sends a mesmeric crossfield ball into Jesus. The Brazilian cuts inside and curls his shot straight at Meslier.
END. TO. END.
Leeds 0-1 Man City
36 mins: The Leeds crowd REALLY fancy this now. After a dull 25 minutes, the home side have come alive with their energy and pressing.
Man City are being rushed now. They are by no means comfortable out there.
Leeds 0-1 Man City
34 mins: Suddenly the Elland Road crowd bursts into life as Leeds pour forward in numbers.
Phillips clips it out to Raphinha and he goes down under a challenge from Laporte but it was a fair one. Leeds then probe down the other side and Harrison’s backbreaking run down the left earns his side a throw.
A lovely move then reaches Firpo and he tries his luck from a tight angle but it’s a few yards over the top.
Better from the hosts.
Leeds 0-1 Man City
32 mins: Oh that’s superb from Grealish. He skips past Dallas on the touchline and then comes inside beyond Ayling. He is clearly fouled yet again but tries to stay on his feet and when he eventually loses the ball referee Paul Tierney ignores his protests.
The ref is having a poor game so far. Has got a lot of minor decisions wrong. Even the free-kick which led to City’s goal was probably not a foul.
Leeds 0-1 Man City
30 mins: It comes to nothing as Foden tries a training ground move that no other player arrived at the meeting for.
Leeds 0-1 Man City
29 mins: A bit better from Leeds as they pinch the ball on halfway and Raphinha drives forward before looking for Klich but it’s just behind the Polish midfielder.
Sterling then earns his side a free-kick midway inside the Leeds half.
Leeds 0-1 Man City
27 mins: Foden delivers a Manchester City corner which is easily dealt with at the front post.
City get the ball straight back and begin their slow build-up play once more. The tempo of the match is suiting the visitors. They can up it at will, but also knock it around without a care in the world.
Leeds 0-1 Man City
25 mins: Aside from Cancelo’s slip and Rodri’s goal, there has been very little to shout about from either team so far.
Given Leeds dropped to 17th place earlier today, you would have thought they may start with a bit more urgency.
Then again, they may me fearful of being picked off early on.
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