Daniel Farke looked set to oversee another miserable afternoon for Leeds at the Etihad Stadium.
Leeds could not even escape the first minute unpunished as Phil Foden opened the scoring with just 59 seconds on the clock, and a second followed when Josko Gvardiol headed beyond Lucas Perri in the 25th minute.
The introduction of Dominic Calvert-Lewin changed the game, however, as the England international scored in the 49th minute before winning a penalty for Lukas Nmecha to equalise 19 minutes later.
Foden ultimately broke many hearts in Leeds with a winner in the 91st minute.
There was a vast difference in individual quality between Leeds and Manchester City during the first half – but Daniel Farke would have been disappointed to see Pascal Struijk seemingly give up hope before the second half even began.
Pascal Struijk accused of showing no urgency to help Leeds United get back in the game
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Chris Sutton noticed the Leeds No.5 taking his time to get the game restarted, and accused the defender of being “content” with losing.
The 52-year-old said: “We’ve just seen an incident where Pascal Struijk was in absolutely no rush to pick the ball up and roll it back to his goalkeeper to get on with the game. His team are losing, and yet he seems content with going in 2-0 down. Very odd.”
Daniel Farke needs to get a grip of his players 😤
“We’ve just seen an incident where Pascal Struijk was in absolutely no rush to pick the ball up and roll it back to his goalkeeper to get on with the game. His team are losing – and yet he seems content with going in 2-0 down. Very odd.”
Chris Sutton on BBC live blog
Pascal Struijk vs Manchester City
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
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Heads did seem to drop after Foden scored so early, and in fairness to Struijk, he was not the only one appearing to lack urgency as several players seemed to be resigned to a fourth successive defeat before the interval.
However, the introductions of Jaka Bijol and Calvert-Lewin for Dan James and Willy Gnonto changed everything for Leeds, with each player looking far more confident on and off the ball.
Tony Dorigo spotted Pascal Struijk looking lost
Struijk – who is desperate for a World Cup spot – settled down once Bijol joined him and Rodon at the back in the second half, but seemed truly confused during the opening 45 minutes.
STAT: Phil Foden scored after just 0:59, the fastest goal in the Premier League this season.
Foden scores vs Leeds
Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images
Tony Dorigo – covering the game for Leeds United TV – noticed the Dutchman looking over to Farke with confusion etched across his face, unsure of whether he should be tracking runs from Manchester City or sitting and holding his position.
In fairness, Struijk was left on the bench for recent games against West Ham and Brighton, and then only played eight minutes at Nottingham Forest, so he was potentially a bit rusty.
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