Manchester City defeated Leeds United 3-2 in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts got off to a flying start, taking the lead after just one minute. City worked the ball brilliantly down the right flank, and Matheus Nunes put a good ball across the box to Phil Foden, who volleyed a smart finish off the crossbar and into the back of the net to put his side 1-0 up with the first chance of the match.
City doubled their lead in the 25th minute thanks to a goal from Josko Gvardiol. Nunes, who assisted the first goal, was also involved in the second, as his corner caused the Leeds back line plenty of problems. Lucas Perri came off his line to punch the ball away, but completely missed it. The ball then fell right in front of Gvardiol, who tapped the ball home from just a few yards out to double City's lead.
Pep Guardiola's men went on to continue their dominance for the rest of the first half, creating several wonderful chances, but they couldn't convert any more before the referee blew for half-time.
Just minutes into the second half, Leeds managed to get a goal back despite being dominated for pretty much the whole match up to this point. Nunes, who was involved in City's first two goals, was also involved in this goal for the opposition, this time making two errors. The Portuguese international's pass out of defence was intercepted, which saw the visitors break forward. Ao Tanaka was the interceptor, and he played Dominic Calvert-Lewin through, and the big striker slotted a tidy finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
In the 66th minute, Leeds were awarded a penalty after Gvardiol brought down Calvert-Lewin in the City penalty area. Although City players protested the referee's decision, it was a clear penalty, and after a brief VAR review, the penalty stood. Lucas Nmecha stepped up to take the spot kick, but Donnarumma saved it, and the rebound fell straight back to the German striker, who tapped it into the back of the net to equalise and make it 2-2.
In the 91st minute, City regained their lead, and it was Foden once again with the goal. The Englishman slotted a tidy finish into the bottom corner after producing some neat footwork to send the Etihad Stadium into rapture and secure all three points for his side.
Foden's goal was the last action of the match, and City secured all three points with a 3-2 win.
Match Highlights
To follow soon...
Manchester City Player Ratings
Josko Gvardiol celebrating after scoring for Manchester City against Leeds United in the Premier League
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma - 4/10
A match to forget for the Italian. Donnarumma not only looked shaky pretty much every time a cross or a high ball was lofted into his penalty area. He was unfortunate that his penalty save fell straight to Nmecha to equalise for the visitors.
RB: Matheus Nunes - 6/10
Despite having a fantastic start to the match, assisting City's first goal and having a part to play in their second, Nunes' afternoon was quickly turned around as he was at fault twice for Leeds' first goal.
CB: Ruben Dias - 7.5/10
Good when playing the ball out from the back and put in a calm and assured performance defensively.
CB: Josko Gvardiol - 6.5/10
It was a game of two halves for the Croatian. Gvardiol was excellent in the first half and even managed to get on the scoresheet, but in the second half, mainly down to the presence of Calvert-Lewin, he really struggled defensively and gave away a penalty.
LB: Nico O'Reilly - 7.5/10
Managed to get an assist to his name and was a decent creative outlet for City, especially when he drifted into the midfield.
CM: Nico Gonzalez - 7/10
Decent with the ball at his feet, but seemed to struggle in the second half with the physicality and intensity of Leeds' midfield.
CM: Tijjani Reijnders - 5.5/10
Despite getting on the ball quite regularly, Reijnders didn't really manage to create anything of significance for his teammates.
CM: Bernardo Silva - 6/10
Quite like Reijnders, Silva saw a lot of the ball but didn't really do much with it. Silva also struggled with the intensity and physicality of Leeds' midfield in the second half.
RW: Phil Foden - 9/10 (Man of the Match)
Match winner. Despite having a quiet second half for the most part, Foden still came up with the goods and netted the match-winning goal in the 91st minute to win his side all three points.
ST: Erling Haaland - 5/10
Never really got involved in the match, and despite City's dominance, especially in the first half, the big striker didn't get given much service at all.
LW: Jeremy Doku - 7.5/10
Looked to make things happen every time he picked up the ball. Doku's crossing and ability in one-on-ones were key for City.
SUB: Rayan Cherki - 7.5/10
Had an instant impact on the match, assisting Foden's winning goal.
SUB: Omar Marmoush - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: John Stones - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
Leeds United Player Ratings
Lukas Nmecha celebrating after scoring for Leeds United against Manchester City in the Premier League
GK: Lucas Perri - 6.5/10
Despite being partially at fault for City's second goal, when he completely mistimed his run for a cross, Perri actually put in a decent performance and made some good saves.
RB: Jayden Bogle - 6.5/10
Had some success against Doku, but looked to tire and fatigue late in the match, which made Leeds become easier to break down.
CB: Joe Rodon - 7/10
Managed to keep Haaland fairly quiet, and produced some important defensive actions such as blocks and clearances.
CB: Pascal Struijk - 7.5/10
Like his centre-back partner, Rodon, Struijk also played very well against the tough test of Haaland and produced some key defensive actions.
LB: James Justin - 6/10
Decent defensively at times, but never really offered anything going forward. Justin was substituted in the second half as he seemed to fatigue very quickly.
CM: Ethan Ampadu - 7.5/10
An energetic, hard-working performance in midfield. Ampadu was efficient in possession and battled really hard and pressed well in the middle of the park.
CM: Ao Tanaka - 8/10
Had a forgettable first half, but put in an excellent second half performance. Tanaka put a brilliant pass through to Calvert-Lewin, which led to him scoring, and was a relentless pressing force in midfield.
CM: Ilia Gruev - 7.5/10
Had some very tidy moments in possession of the ball and, like his midfield partners, worked his socks off and pressed relentlessly in midfield.
RW: Daniel James - 5/10
Taken off at half-time after a pretty much anonymous first-half performance.
ST: Lukas Nmecha - 8/10
Was a handful for the City defenders to deal with at times due to his physicality. The German also managed to get on the scoresheet, scoring a tap-in right after his penalty was saved.
LW: Wilfried Gnonto - 6.5/10
Caused Nunes some problems in the first half, but was taken off at half-time.
SUB: Dominic Calvert-Lewin - 8.5/10 (Man of the Match)
Completely turned the match on its head after coming on. The big striker's aerial ability and physicality caused the City defence lots of problems, and he was involved in both goals for his side.
SUB: Jaka Bijol - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Gabriel Gudmundsson - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Noah Okafor - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Brenden Aaronson - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.