CITY STUNNED BY LATE WINNER FROM 10-MAN LEEDS
Cooper sent off but Bielsa’s men stun City
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 for the visitors, 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 injury-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 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 for Dallas to run in on goal.
Dallas advanced on Ederson and showed great composure to slot his finish between the goalkeeper’s legs before being mobbed by jubilant team-mates.
‘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 worried ahead of Thursday’s Champions League return in Dortmund.
Few of the players he brought in yesterday, most notably Raheem Sterling, turned in displays 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 bravely blocking from Gabriel Jesus, while keeper Meslier added to his growing reputation by kicking away danger from Fernandinho. Leeds bided their time but always looked capable on the break and they opened the scoring in 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 striker then rolled the ball into Dallas’s path.
Dallas then comprehensively cracked home with a drive that beat Ederson via his left post.
However, the Leeds celebrations were cut short on stroke of half-time when Scotland defender Cooper went into a robust challenge on Jesus and, although he won the ball, caught the Brazilian above the knee with a raised boot.
Referee Andre Marriner initially signalled a yellow but after being advised to check on his screen by
VAR, it turned into red. City started the second half as if they had been given a ticking off by their manager but had to wait until the 76th minute for the equaliser.
Fernandinho threaded a pass into Bernardo Silva inside the box and he squared for Torres to finish from eight yards.
But Leeds were not finished. In a pulsating finish, Dallas scored his seventh goal of the season to cap a crazy day at the Etihad.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Ake (Gundogan 59), Mendy (Foden 74); Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Zinchenko; Torres, Gabriel Jesus, Sterling. Subs (not used): Walker, Dias, Steffen, De Bruyne, Rodri, Mahrez, Garcia. Booked: Ake, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho.
LEEDS (4-1-4-1): Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Cooper, Alioski; Phillips; Raphinha (Shackleton 90), Dallas, Roberts (Koch 63), Helder Costa; Bamford (Struijk 45). Subs (not used): Poveda-Ocampo, Casilla, Hernandez, Berardi, Gelhardt, Klich.
Booked: Alioski. Sent off: Cooper.
Referee: Andre Marriner.