Pep shocked by Leeds
Down to 10 men for a half. Only two shots compared with City’s 29. But Dallas double gives Pep the blues
TO overcome Manchester City with 11 players is virtually impossible. For Leeds to achieve the feat with captain Liam Cooper dismissed in the first half is something only Marcelo Bielsa could conjure up.
Pep Guardiola’s City had won 27 of their previous 28 matches and even when Stuart Dallas opened the scoring they looked set fair for a comeback as Ferran Torres levelled after 76 minutes.
The final shot count was 29-2 in City’s favour, yet Leeds, incredibly, got stronger the longer the match went on. Having soaked up non-stop pressure, they joined City in pushing for the winner in the thrilling closing stages.
Raphinha had already missed one opportunity when in stoppage-time Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier plucked a Fernandinho header out of the air and started a move that epitomised Bielsaball.
He threw out to left-back Ezgjan Alioski who, aware City might be vulnerable in their own pursuit to score, burst forward with renewed energy. The North Macedonian, recently part of a famous win against Germany, sensed another major upset as he played a one-two with Raphinha and played a delicious pass from the middle of the park for Dallas to run on goal.
Dallas, whose time at Elland Road predates Bielsa, advanced on Ederson and showed great composure to slot his finish between the goalkeeper’s legs.
‘It sounds a strange thing to say but, although it would have been fair if City had won, we deserved to because of the character, personality and effort. My players showed mental and physical fortitude after losing a man,’ said Bielsa.
‘We always had that spirit and desire within the team to attack when the situation allowed. Dallas with his enormous runs. Raphinha with his capacity to unsettle, Helder Costa made a massive effort.’
City will come again, though the performance will have Guardiola slightly worried before Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg in Dortmund.
Few of the players he brought in yesterday, most notably Raheem Sterling, turned in performances that demanded selection again.
Though they are still strong odds-on to win the title, Manchester United play twice before City are in Premier League action again and the gap could be down to eight points when Guardiola’s men run out at Villa Park on April 21. ‘Defeat is sometimes necessary to make you realise what we’ve achieved before,’ said Guardiola. ‘We had chances but didn’t finish. We controlled their counter-attacks until the last five minutes. But I have incredible confidence in the guys for the next game.’
Guardiola gambled by leaving big names like Kevin De Bruyne on the bench. In fact, all nine of City’s substitutes were full internationals with 321 caps between them.
Leeds were never overawed, even if outplayed at times. They put their bodies on the line with striker Patrick Bamford blocking from Gabriel Jesus, while Meslier added to his reputation by kicking away danger from Fernandinho.
Skipper Fernandinho was in great form, surging past three defenders but, when he squared to Sterling, the forward sidefooted wide.
Leeds bided their time but always looked capable on the break and they opened the scoring in fine style after 42 minutes. Costa muscled his way past Joao Cancelo far too easily down the left and found Bamford on the edge of the box. The forward cleverly bided his time before rolling the ball into the path of Dallas.
He then cracked home with a drive that beat Ederson via the inside of the left post. ‘It was our mistake ,’ said Guardiola.
Leeds celebrations were cut short on t he stroke of half-time, however, when Cooper went into a robust challenge on Jesus and, though he won the ball, caught the Brazilian above the knee with a raised boot.
Referee Andre Marriner initially signalled a yellow card but, after being advised to check on his screen by VAR, he changed it to red. As Cooper trooped off, Bamford was replaced so Bielsa could bring on Pascal Struijk to reinforce the defence.
City started the second half as if they had been given a ticking off by their manager. Guardiola tweaked his personnel with Fernandinho back in defence, though he and John Stones were encouraged to push forward and create space for others whenever possible. The first of the big beasts on the bench was unveiled when Ilkay Gundogan was brought on after an hour, quickly followed by Phil Foden. Another Stones surge led to Diego Llorente’s interceptions to stop Jesus and then Bernardo Silva from equalising. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fernandinho were both denied. When it came, the equaliser was a great City move. Fernandinho threaded a pass into Silva inside the box and he squared for Torres to finish from eight yards. It was the Spaniard’s first Premier League goal since netting against Newcastle on Boxing Day. And yet, Leeds were not finished. The first foot
Fernandinho put wrong came after 85 minutes when he al l owed Raphinha a free run at goal.
The Leeds winger was never going to be caught for pace and it needed a great tackle by Ederson on the edge of the box to stop the visitors going ahead again.
In a pulsating finish, Bernardo flashed a left-footed drive from 18 yards just over the bar. Fernandinho then stretched to meet Gundogan’s cross but headed into Meslier’s arms. The goalkeeper then got one Leeds attack rollling that ended with Dallas’s seventh goal of the season to cap a crazy day.