Manchester City came out on top in a feisty battle with multiple moments of controversy
Since being in the Premier League, Leeds United vs Manchester City has been one of the fixtures with less animosity than many others for both teams. A shared hatred for Manchester United, a huge amount of respect for both club legends Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola, Haaland family love from both sets of supporters, and even a relatively warm feeling towards Kalvin Phillips from both sides, despite the disappointment attached to his 2022 Manchester City move, so how did this game end up so bad tempered?
Pre Match
The drama started with a light-hearted press conference response from Leeds boss, Daniel Farke. Upon promotion, his partying side came out, and he dubbed himself ‘Feierbiest’, roughly translating to ‘Party Animal’ So when Guardiola stated that his City players could have “a lot of caipirinhas, daiquiris in these three days off.” Prior to the match, Feierbiest Farke quipped back claiming at Leeds, they drink “Proper Pints”, a sarcastic, lighthearted dig at the comments made by Guardiola midweek.
Nonetheless, it ignited a fire of its own accord in a match where there was more confidence than there normally would be for Leeds in this fixture, with Elland Road at night being an absolute fortress in the club’s return to the Premier League.
With Leeds being in relatively impressive form in recent time, there was almost an air of expectation that they stood a chance with a good performance within the Whites’ fanbase, meaning there was more jeopardy than usual in this fixture, only reflected in a quick start from the players in an electric Elland Road atmosphere.
First Half
Finding themselves on the front foot early on, Dominic Calvert Lewin and Brendan Aaronson came close to giving Leeds the lead. The momentum dropped off slightly towards the end of the first half but if Leeds got through the half under late Man City pressure, there was a feeling they could go on and get something from the game.
In the last minute of first half added time however, new City signing Antoine Semenyo continued his impressive start, netting from close range, breaking hearts in the home crowd.
A Second Half of Controversy
Teamtalk changed, and a shift in feeling, Leeds came back out battling in the second half, despite being on the back foot, continuing to fight.
After a small lull, the crowd was ignited into anger after the home side and Farke were left believing Rayan Cherki had intentionally stamped on Ilia Gruev, something that would later help explain a full-time incident. After this, Leeds battled to get a goal back, bringing on Dan James, Willy Gnonto, Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe.
Tackles started to fly in from both sides, fouls given, and Farke grew more and more animated on the touchline. Notably, Gabriel Gudmundsson was chopped down when attempting to counter.
At this point in the match, there was a sense Leeds could salvage something in the crowd, in a similar atmosphere to the 3-3 draw with Liverpool where they truly felt like the 12th man. With play around the Man City penalty area, chances were squandered from good positions, every corner and throw-in brought a sense of optimism but City remained resilient.
Injury Time Woes For Farke
A handball was left unpunished in the penalty area in the latter stages, enraging Farke, who seemed to believe it was not accidental, before Donnarumma and the rest of the City players seemed to take longer and longer to restart the game during a desperate 6 minutes of added time where Leeds pushed, Guardiola pointed to his watch, praying for the full time whistle, and Ait-Nouri was booked for time wasting.
The whistle was blown almost immediately after 6 minutes were up, despite delays and Farke stormed onto the pitch towards referee Peter Bankes, who brandished the red card before the German had a proper chance to make his point. Whilst this was ongoing, Guardiola sarcastically reacted to Leeds fans, waving and smiling emphatically as chants of ‘cheating b*****ds’ cerenaded his side.
That’s where the night ended, with Manchester City Victorious, Leeds United feeling aggrieved and without their manager at full time, however the club and Farke are expected to appeal the red card. In a match where Leeds have always been the underdogs in recent times, we’ve not seen much resentment towards Man City from their fans since 2020, but Saturday’s game was definitely not one word, placid.
Eddie Riemer conducted the post match press conference for The Whites, who next face Sunderland on Tuesday night, whilst Guardiola’s Manchester City resume their title fight against struggling Nottingham Forest on Wednesday
