Leeds United 0-1 Manchester City: Josep Guardiola’s side cut the lead on Premier League leaders Arsenal to just two points ahead of a big game against Londoners Chelsea.
Antoine Semenyo celebrates after scoring for Manchester City (Image: Oli Scarff/AFP)
Antoine Semenyo scored the winning goal as Manchester City were able to keep the pressure on Arsenal away at Leeds United.
The Gunners started the weekend with a five-point advantage in the Premier League summit, but City had played 24 hours ahead of Mikel Arteta’s side and knew the gap could be cut to two points by the time Sunday’s kick-off against Chelsea.
Although City were close, they made the most of their advantage. With just a few minutes remaining in the first half, the deadlock was broken when Semenyo ghosted between Leeds’ centre-halves and curled in a deft shot from six yards.
In the second half, neither City nor Leeds could find the back of the net, with Semenyo’s shot proving to be the decisive moment of the match. Here are the key talking points from the mirror football game…
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1) No Haaland, no problem.
The big topic before the match was Erling Haaland’s absence. Manchester City’s imposing Leeds-born striker would almost certainly have led the line in Pep Guardiola’s side. Please come forward, Semenyo.
Signed from Bournemouth in January, City played primarily in the middle to fill the void left by Haaland, and his goal, his sixth since joining the Etihad, pushed the visiting side in front.
Haaland exudes a heroic energy and will likely be City’s main player for a long time to come, unless things change drastically. However, Semenyo’s impact since linking up with City has been huge and he is quickly becoming a key figure in the team.
2) O’Reilly’s worries
Nico O’Reilly impressed again during Manchester City vs. Leeds (Image: Oli Scarff/AFP)
Semenyo may have been on City’s radar lately, but he is not alone in that regard. And Nico O’Reilly produced another impressive performance in his senior midfield position as he continues to build a convincing case for England’s World Cup squad.
O’Reilly, a great fill-in at left-back, has been at the center of a lot of good things here, even if he hasn’t been able to continue his impressive scoring spree after scoring three goals in his last two games.
The sight of him limping off the pitch in the second half was the only sour note on a night that could hold the key to the title race. City will hope that Mr O’Reilly’s problems are not serious.
3) Calvert-Lewin and Leeds fail to fire.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin led Leeds’ line against Manchester City (Image: Justin Setterfield)
Daniel Farke quipped that he was “the only striker who came close” to Erling Haaland after Calvert-Lewin named him the world’s best centre-forward. And with the Norwegian absent, Calvert-Lewin took center stage.
The former Everton man has been making a comeback at Elland Road and had already scored 10 goals before Saturday night’s big game. They had two great chances to add to that tally in the first 20 minutes, but were unable to convert either.
However, he has always been a thorn in City’s defense and could play a key role in helping Leeds break out of their slump.
4) The city stands firm.
Semenyo was the one who left in the headlines, but Marc Guehi, another of the players who joined City in January, played a role here along with Ruben Dias and the rest of the backline.
City now have two clean sheets in three games and have won four in a row. This is not surprising, as this is usually the stage in a season when Guardiola’s teams start to hit their targets.
5) Game on in title fight
Josep Guardiola and Manchester City close in on Arsenal (Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside)
Not for the first time in recent weeks, the onus has been on Arsenal to respond after City look set to move within striking distance of the league leaders.
Of course, Arsenal will still play tomorrow, but they could regain the five-point gap that existed between the two teams at the start of the weekend. But we’ve seen before what the pressure of competing for a title can do to a team. That is something both City and Arsenal can prove this season.
Well then, Arsenal, thank you very much.
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