Kiko’s the king for boss Bielsa
Ancelotti suffers first Toffees loss
LEEDS boss Marcelo Bielsa felt his side should have won this clash of the tabletoppers – but was left thanking keeper Kiko Casilla.
The Spanish star made a string of fine saves to keep the Baggies at bay in a high-tempo game.
Leeds remain top on goal difference with both sides now holding a nine-point advantage over third-placed Brentford.
Bielsa said: “I definitely think we should have won the match. We managed the game well but there were chances for both sides. Overall, I think we deserved it.”
Leeds did have the edge but they owed the three points to Casilla.
He made a series of crucial stops – none better than one right on the stroke of half-time, when he found himself in a one-on-one with Matt Phillips but saved with his legs.
Then, right at the end, he jack-knifed through the air to claw a Kyle Edwards shot from under his bar and tipped it over.
The home side couldn’t have asked for a better start as they floored Leeds with a goal after just 75 seconds.
West Brom forced a corner and when Matheus Pereira swung it over, Casilla got in a bit of a flap.
He tried to punch clear but only sent it flying high into the air and when it dropped, Semi Ajayi diverted the ball goalwards with his outstretched boot.
Jack Harrison hooked it away but the ball had clearly crossed the line.
But poor Ajayi unwittingly levelled things up early in the second half when Leeds cashed in from a corner.
Substitute Patrick Bamford nodded across goal and peeled away in delight as it flew in off Ajayi’s shoulder.
Baggies boss Slaven Bilic said: “Leeds had most of the possession but we had the best chances, so I think it was a fair result.
“It could have been a different story if Matt Phillips had scored to make it 2-0 with a great chance. Matty had time and it was one-on-one.
“It was all there to score, but it was a great save.”
CONSIDERING he was up against a managerial genius and a striker called Jesus, poor old Carlo Ancelotti never stood a chance.
Not that Pep Guardiola had to be at his blinding best to help Manchester City overcome an hard-working but limited Everton.
In the end two wonderful goals from Gabriel Jesus were enough to secure a deserved win and hand Ancelotti his first defeat since taking charge of the Toffees.
Richarlison pulled one back with 20 minutes remaining to set up a frantic finish but City held on to make it six wins from the last seven and remain hot on the heels of second-placed Leicester.
Guardiola made five changes to the side that beat Sheffield United with Ilkay Gundogan, Jesus, Benjamin Mendy, Joao Cancelo and Phil Foden all starting.
Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva had to settle for a place on the bench, while Claudio Bravo retained his place in the team because Ederson was ill, despite having served his one-match ban.
The sight of the Chilean will have had the Toffees licking their lips considering the last time Bravo faced them, at Goodison Park in 2017, he allowed all four shots on target to beat him in a crushing 4-0 defeat.
The Toffees also made five changes with Fabian Delph, Lucas Digne, Yerry Mina and Seamus Coleman all returning along with Bernard, who then had to pull out at the last minute after getting injured in the warmup and was replaced midfielder Tom Davies.
This was a rare duel between two managerial greats and Guardiola will have been looking for a different outcome from their only previous competitive meetings when Ancelotti’s Real Madrid side hammered Bayern Munich 5-0 over two legs in a Champions League semi-final in 2014.
City almost fell behind inside 10 minutes when Gylfi Sigurdsson’s clever pass released Coleman, but his goalbound shot was superbly tipped over by Bravo.
The home side thought they’d gone ahead through Foden moments later but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR check.
The first half resembled two sides with hangovers from New Year’s Eve as the Toffees flooded the midfield channels to stifle Guardiola’s men.
Jesus shot over while tricky winger Riyad Mahrez wasted three chances, including one from point-blank range on the stroke of half-time.
But as the game continued to drift, Jesus injected some life into proceedings with a stunning shot into the top corner on 51 minutes to end the stalemate.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin could have equalised moments later but headed wide and the miss proved costly when Jesus doubled City’s lead on 58 minutes, latching onto Mahrez’s pass before beating Jordan Pickford with a clinical finish.
But this wouldn’t have been a normal game without a blunder from Bravo and he gifted the Toffees a lifeline on 70 minutes with a woeful pass out from the back.
Sub Moise Kean pounced on the stray ball and fed Theo Walcott, who picked out Richarlison at the back post for a simple finish.
But it was City who went closest before the finish as the post denied Jesus his hat-trick.