Manchester City moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League by surviving a late scare to beat a Leeds side playing under new manager Sam Allardyce for the first time.
Two fine first-half goals by Ilkay Gundogan had done the damage for City, who appeared utterly dominant as they headed towards their 10th straight league win.
Gundogan’s first neat finish, which came after Riyad Mahrez found him in space on the edge of the area, was into the bottom left-hand corner of Joel Robles’ goal.
His second, again with Mahrez the provider, was identical apart from that he found the opposite corner of the net.
City were in full control but could not find a third goal to finish Leeds off after the break. Even Erling Haaland, for once, failed to score – his best effort came back off the post.
Their best chance to wrap the game up came with six minutes to go, when Pascal Struijk fouled Phil Foden inside the area and referee Andrew Madley pointed to the spot.
Regular penalty-taker Haaland passed up the chance to take it and add to his 51-goal tally for the season, but saw Gundogan miss out on a hat-trick when he sent his effort against the post.
That gave Leeds hope and, only 58 seconds later, they were somehow back in the game. Manuel Akanji failed to deal with a long ball and substitute Rodrigo beat Ederson with a low finish.
Their noisy supporters roared them forward in search of an unlikely equaliser but City were not in the mood to let the three points slip.
Pep Guardiola’s side march on, with the next step in their Treble bid coming against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Tuesday, in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Leeds and Allardyce, meanwhile, only have a grim fight against relegation ahead.
With three games left, they remain out of the relegation zone on goal difference – but they will have to show far more attacking intent in the next few weeks if they are to avoid the drop.
More follows.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key = Give it up = Pure perfection
Manchester City
-
Squad number2Player nameWalker -
Squad number16Player nameRodri -
Squad number20Player nameBernardo Silva
Leeds United
-
Squad number22Player nameRobles
-
Squad number2Player nameAyling
-
Squad number25Player nameKristensen
-
Squad number39Player nameWöber
-
Squad number3Player nameFirpo
-
Squad number28Player nameMcKennie
-
Squad number8Player nameRoca
-
Squad number29Player nameGnonto
-
Squad number4Player nameForshaw
-
Squad number11Player nameHarrison
-
Squad number9Player nameBamford
-
Squad number7Player nameAaronson
-
Squad number10Player nameSummerville
-
Squad number19Player nameRodrigo
-
Squad number21Player nameStruijk
-
Squad number42Player nameGreenwood
Line-ups
Man City
Formation 3-2-4-1
- 31Ederson
- 6AkéSubstituted forWalkerat 54′minutes
- 14Laporte
- 25Akanji
- 17De Bruyne
- 19ÁlvarezSubstituted forBernardo Silvaat 87′minutes
- 82Lewis
- 8GündoganSubstituted forRodriat 90+3′minutes
- 26Mahrez
- 47Foden
- 9Haaland
Substitutes
- 2Walker
- 3Rúben Dias
- 4Phillips
- 5Stones
- 10Grealish
- 16Rodri
- 18Ortega
- 20Bernardo Silva
- 21Gómez
Leeds
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 22Robles
- 2Ayling
- 25Kristensen
- 39Wöber
- 3Firpo
- 28McKennieBooked at 90mins
- 8RocaSubstituted forGreenwoodat 59′minutes
- 29GnontoBooked at 45minsSubstituted forRodrigoat 58′minutesBooked at 71mins
- 4ForshawSubstituted forStruijkat 80′minutes
- 11HarrisonSubstituted forSummervilleat 66′minutes
- 9BamfordSubstituted forAaronsonat 80′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Meslier
- 5Koch
- 7Aaronson
- 10Summerville
- 19Rodrigo
- 21Struijk
- 24Rutter
- 42Greenwood
- 63Gray
- Referee:
- Andy Madley
- Attendance:
- 53,406
Live Text
-
Match ends, Manchester City 2, Leeds United 1.
-
Second Half ends, Manchester City 2, Leeds United 1.
-
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Pascal Struijk.
-
Substitution, Manchester City. Rodri replaces Ilkay Gündogan.
-
Weston McKennie (Leeds United) is shown the yellow card.
-
Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
-
Foul by Weston McKennie (Leeds United).
-
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Brenden Aaronson.
-
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Brenden Aaronson.
-
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Rasmus Kristensen.
-
Substitution, Manchester City. Bernardo Silva replaces Julián Álvarez.
-
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
-
Foul by Sam Greenwood (Leeds United).
-
Goal! Manchester City 2, Leeds United 1. Rodrigo (Leeds United) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.
-
Foul by Phil Foden (Manchester City).
-
Crysencio Summerville (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
-
Penalty missed! Still Manchester City 2, Leeds United 0. Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) hits the right post with a right footed shot.
-
Penalty Manchester City. Phil Foden draws a foul in the penalty area.
-
Penalty conceded by Pascal Struijk (Leeds United) after a foul in the penalty area.
-
Attempt missed. Rico Lewis (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Kevin De Bruyne following a corner.
- Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before – here’s everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment
