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When Phil Foden struck the winner in the second minute of added time Pep Guardiola’s leap was laced with relief at Manchester City’s pursuit of Arsenal still being alive.
City had spurned a two-goal interval advantage after Dominic Calvert-Lewin, a half-time substitute, had terrorised the hosts. The 28-year-old scored in the 49th minute, then claimed the penalty that led to Lukas Nmecha’s 68th-minute equaliser, rattling Josko Gvardiol enough for him to scythe Calvert-Lewin down clumsily.
City’s response was admirable. The substitute Rayan Cherki fed Foden and he ran left along Leeds’s area before beating Lucas Perri. Yet the Leeds fightback had again illuminated City’s defensive frailties – they are just too easily raided along the flanks, in particular.
After 59 seconds, a diagram of City at their best was offered. Nico González swivelled in the central circle and tapped the ball to Gvardiol, who swept a 45-yard diagonal pass to Matheus Nunes. The right-back leaped to control it, relayed the ball infield to Bernardo Silva, darted forward, received possession again, and found Foden, whose finish went in off the bar.
As a riposte to Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen it was perfect, particularly as Foden and Nunes were two of the 10 changes that backfired on Guardiola. Another of those reinstated, Nico O’Reilly, created City’s next opening when dancing down the left and finding the busy Foden: the shot was blocked by a sliding James Justin, Gonzalez’s follow-up by Ilia Gruev.
City were rampant and a second goal was soon on the scoreboard. When Foden’s corner from the right came back to him he rammed the ball at goal and Perri flew right to palm behind for a corner on the other side. In this came, from Tijjani Reijnders; O’Reilly beat a flailing Perri to head down and Gvardiol finished. The video assistant referee’s check for offside proved negative and City were cruising.
The word is Daniel Farke’s job is under threat, the charge stating that the German is out of his depth at this level. His team were being cast as the same, so a rare foray that featured Wilfried Gnonto passing to Nmecha had to be converted instead of being blasted over.
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At the interval, Farke hooked Gnonto and Daniel James for Calvert-Lewin and Jaka Bijol and there was an instant dividend. Nunes, twice, was City’s culprit. First a loose pass ceded possession. Then, when Calvert-Lewin got the better of a covering Gvardiol, Nunes could have hacked clear. But the auxiliary right-back hesitated and Calvert-Lewin poked home.
Suddenly Leeds were on top, Calvert-Lewin a bundle of menace and muscular pace as when tipping the ball beyond Nunes, then causing the beleaguered Portuguese to be booked for a foul when pursuing him.
Donnarumma was jeered by the travelling support for requiring attention – this allowed Guardiola to have a pitchside pow-wow. It did no good, because after Jayden Bogle’s header into City’s area a hapless Gvardiol was spooked by Calvert-Lewin, who was upended.
This was the clearest penalty Peter Bankes will give, but still Rúben Dias moaned to the referee in comical manner. Up stepped Nmecha, whose initial effort was saved by Donnarumma before the forward rolled the rebound in.
Guardiola’s order to up the tempo resulted in goalmouth scrambles involving Silva, O’Reilly and the anonymous Erling Haaland, but Leeds escaped. Sadly for them, they could not avert City’s box-office finale but on this evidence Farke is still being heeded by his players
