Phil Foden was the great figure in Manchester City’s 3-2 win over Leeds, For the 13th day of the English Premier League, which leaves the Citizens four points behind leaders Arsenal. The England striker scored a minute into the game and in extra time to give Pep Guardiola’s side victory when it looked like it would be a day when the two-goal deficit would come down to just one point, as Marcelo Bielsa’s former side managed a temporary 2-2 draw.
At home, City took a 2-0 lead with goals from Foden (1′) and Josko Gvardiol (25′), but Leeds responded in the second half and managed to equalize thanks to Dominic Calvert-Lewin (49′) and Lucas Nmecha (68′). In extra time, Foden scored (90+1) with a powerful shot that hit the left post, sparking celebration from everyone in Manchester City. And so Foden was saved Matthews Nunesthe right-back who committed two fouls on the same play in stoppage time: first with an errant pass, then in an attempt to mark Calvert-Lewin, he ended up “assisting” the opposing striker.
Thus, City, which lost last round 2-1 in Newcastle and during the week in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen (2-0), was able to remain the first pursuer of leader Arsenal, who visits Chelsea on Sunday.
It all started well for Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium: the clock was barely a minute into play when Phil Foden opened the scoring, finishing off a cross from the right wing of Portuguese Matheus Nunes in the six-yard box. With half an hour to play, Nico O’Reilly headed towards the Leeds goal after a corner kick and his teammate Gvardiol appeared to extend his leg and give the final push to the ball with his toe. The goal, which was reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), went up on the scoreboard, in what looked like a comfortable victory for the main pursuers of leaders Arsenal in the title struggle.
But in the second half, the game changed for Pep Guardiola’s men. First, Calvert-Lewin punished City’s overconfidence in getting the ball out to close the gap. Minutes later, the Leeds striker fell to the ground inside the penalty area after a collision with Gvardiol, awarding him a penalty kick. Lucas Nmecha shot a ball from 11 meters that was blocked by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the ball fell again to the feet of the German striker, who did not waste his second chance.
When it seemed that the score would not go any further, the ball reached him inside the area Foden, after being formed, shot powerfully on goal. Despite the crowded area, the ball continued its path and hit near the left post, and Brazilian goalkeeper Lucas Perry was unable to reach it.
Leeds (18th place), which was halfway to its return against one of England’s giants, is still in the relegation positions after its ninth defeat in the tournament, the fourth in a row. – Igor Thiago double. – Sunderland (fourth place) was able to come back from a two-goal deficit, and ended up beating Bournemouth 3-2 (ninth).
The Cherry team took the lead at Al Noor Stadium with goals from Moroccan Amin Adly (7) and American Tyler Adams (15). Half an hour into the match, the Black Cats reduced the gap thanks to a penalty kick executed by Frenchman Enzo Le Vie (30). But the madness broke out in the second half, with two goals scored by Burkinabe Bertrand Traoré (46 minutes) and Dutchman Brian Brobbey (69 minutes), securing the three points that temporarily kept Sunderland in the top four (22 points), while Bournemouth now played four matches without a win.
There were also many goals in Brentford’s 3-1 win over Burnley… although they all came in the last ten minutes, including a brace from Brazilian Igor Thiago (81 from a penalty kick, 86 from a penalty kick), who ranks second in the scorers’ table with 11 goals, behind Norwegian Erling Haaland’s 14 goals.