Find out how Leeds United's players rated against Manchester City in tonight's Premier League clash
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
19:31, 28 Feb 2026
A dejected Ethan Ampadu of Leeds United
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A dejected Ethan Ampadu of Leeds United (Image: Getty Images)
Leeds United suffered their second home defeat of 2026 to title challengers Manchester City in going down 1-0, albeit they remain six points clear of the drop zone by virtue of West Ham United's defeat to Liverpool.
Leeds had put some nice pieces of play together inside the first half an hour, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin missing the best chance just minutes into the game while in acres of space.
Man City regrouped after a positive Leeds spell and enjoyed sustained pressure in the final third. Ethan Ampadu hesitating for a split second when tracking Rayan Ait-Nouri and allowing him to find Antoine Semenyo on the slide.
That was Semenyo's second goal at Elland Road this season having scored a free-kick for Bournemouth earlier in the season. United rallied amid late substitutions and looked most likely to score in the final 15 minutes.
But it was ultimately a case of no Erling Haaland, no problem for City who keep title pressure on Arsenal.
Here are how Leeds' players rated on the night.
Karl Darlow - Made a solid first-half stop to deny Nico O'Reilly's header and held onto shots well in the main. Scooped away a header from Marc Guehi that looked goal-bound. 8
Jayden Bogle - Won duels and then was productive from that. Had to stay in position for much of the second half and so was less effective as a result. 7
James Justin - Industrious and clever with a cute ball or two forward. Had a shot that Gianluigi Donnarumma had to save. Had to be on his toes going the other way in the second half and looked a touch off it after sustaining a bloodied shin. 7
Joe Rodon - Seemed to be in the right place to cut balls out initially but then didn't cut out the cross which Semenyo tucked in. Responded well. 7
Pascal Strujik - Had a tough night on his hands against nimble attackers but carried himself well but physically and positionally. Barged his marker off the ball a few times. 8
Gabriel Gudmundsson - Got down the left decently and kept possession well, or won the free-kick. Was one of the main outlets of attack in the late surge for the equaliser that never came. 7
Ethan Ampadu - Almost scored an own goal with his header back to Darlow who was on the floor after a save in the first half. Was bullied a little bit at times and wasn't the best in the tackle, which is unlike him. Rallied in the final 15 minutes. 6
Ilia Gruev - Got in a tussle with Rodri early on. Held structure and looked to sweep up, though at one point sparked a City attack with a poor ball and then gave away a free-kick a few minutes later. Struggled in the second half. 5
Anton Stach - Some nice touches and flicks and his winning of possession back was applauded by Farke. Wasn't perfect having been run off the back of for the opener but showed his forward-thinking skills on the break with a few good balls upfield. 7
Brenden Aaronson - A good first half, popping up in the right places and going narrowly close with a sliding effort. Carried on pressing in the second half but was essentially played out of the game and was the first to be taken off. 6
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - Put wide a glorious chance in the first few minutes before sliding a ball across the box 15 or so minutes later. Was seen on the shoulder of the last defender when Leeds had the ball. Has to be marked down for that early miss. 6
SUBS
Jaka Bijol (87' for Rodon) - Came on too late for a rating but came very close with a header immediately. N/A
Daniel James (76' for Bogle) - Lost the ball amid a one-two with Stach but then put in a deadly cross that City had to scramble away for a corner, which Bijol nearly scored from. 7
Wilfried Gnonto (76' for Gruev) - Gave away his first pass before winning a corner amid good link up play with Gudmundsson and settled afterwards. 7
Joel Piroe (on 87' mins for Justin) - Came on too late for a rating. N/A.
Lukas Nmecha (65' for Aaronson) - Kept attacks going and therefore the momentum in the final embers, but this was only sporadic. 6
MANAGER: Daniel Farke - His press worked fantastically for most of the first half, the manager applauding every turnover at one point. With the game stgnant for Leeds, he threw on Gnonto and James for the final 15 minutes. Leeds enacted a late surge as a result. A brave effort but ultimately not quite enough. Let himself down with that red card at the end for running at the ref and arguing. Very uncharacteristic from him. 8
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