MANCHESTER, England (AP) – Leeds manager Daniel Farke accused Manchester City of bending the rules before rallying to snatch victory in Saturday’s Premier League match.
Leeds cut the lead from 2-0 to 2-1 and took the lead when City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma fell to the ground and called for a physio. City manager Josep Guardiola immediately gathered his players around him on the sideline in an attempt to adapt to Leeds’ change in shape at half-time.
Guardiola’s team talk did not stop Leeds from leveling the score shortly after with a rebound from a penalty saved by Lucas Nmeka, but City took another point. 3-2 victory When Phil Foden scored in stoppage time.
Falke felt that there was a change in the game after Donnarumma gained attention.
“It’s within the rules,” the German said. “That’s the smart thing to do. If I like it, from a fair play point of view, this is how it should be, I’ll keep it to myself and leave it to the authorities to find a solution. It’s within the rules. I asked the fourth official at this point if he wanted to do anything and he said: ‘No, our hands are tied, we can’t do anything.’
“If we don’t educate our players about football, what to do in terms of fair play and sportsmanship, if they try to bend the rules to their advantage, if they can fake an injury to get additional team discussions, I personally don’t like it, but if it’s within the rules, I can’t complain.”
Guardiola said he believed Donnarumma’s injury was genuine and instructed reserve goalkeeper James Trafford to warm up as necessary.
“I didn’t talk to Gigio,” Guardiola said. “When it happened, I looked back at the dugout and said, ‘James, warm up.’ I don’t understand. If you ask me at the next press conference, I will ask Gigio. ”
Foden said City “started playing again” after Guardiola’s team talk.
Foden said of Leeds: “They changed things in the second half, changed their system, but we just couldn’t seem to get going.”
“It was a frustrating first half, but when we had a short break, the coach got us together to adapt to the formation and we started playing again. We put pressure on and finally we were able to find a little space and we took a shot and found the bottom of the net. I’m really happy, but there are still things we can improve on.”
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