Had Phil Foden not produced a balance-beam display of balance to net the winner in the 90th minute, City would have emerged on Sunday morning with a headache and fragments of the last thing they remember: a cheerful stroll down the tunnel 2-0 up, disappointed that it wasn’t five.
How did we get here? A three-game winless streak lay scattered on the floor. Text messages saying Daniel Farke’s Leeds played a 3-5-2 and threw the ball around us like 2008 Barcelona?
Foden’s ability to run two tackles and fire a shot through a tangle of legs without a single ricochet saved him from facing that grim reality. It was an amazing feat that was based on such a lethargic performance that, after consecutive defeats to Newcastle United and Bayer Leverkusen, it would have been mini-crisis territory, given that City have gone just three games without a win in all competitions four times in the last eight seasons.
City finally got three points which put the pressure back on Arsenal. Long seasons inevitably lead to games like this in which teams get over the line. It’s tempting to write off Saturday as a strange afternoon, the kind of illogical change of pace that only football can do. Note Foden’s talent and his resurgence. go ahead.
But failure to take an early lead is starting to become a bad habit.
It was a foregone conclusion that when the city moved forward, they lived ahead. The need for two goals to defeat them was such a big challenge that it would have destroyed the confidence of the opposition.
Winning regularly is an art that has been lost on them. The pace slowed in the second half against Leeds and possession became passive rather than aggressive. It gave new impetus to a Leeds team whose body language looked like defeat after the first goal.
It is no surprise that the loss of energy manifested in the concession of two comedic goals. First, Matheus Nunes was gifted the ball, Josco Guardiol won it back, only for the Portuguese right-back to snatch the ball from him and head straight to Dominic Calvert-Lewin three yards from goal. Guardiol didn’t fare much better in the second, going to ground unnecessarily and giving away a penalty.
Josco Guardiol unnecessarily entered the field to foul Dominic Calvert-Lewin and conceded the penalty (Oli Scharf/AFP via Getty Images)
City could have been ahead by four or five at the break. The match shouldn’t have been so dramatic but the team that used to be famous for its control is now as dangerous as a magnet.
It was the sixth game this season that City have gone behind after taking the lead. At Brighton, he opened the scoring in the 34th minute, but was subbed off in the second half. Unable to stop Yankuba Minteh’s flow of breakaways, they conceded two goals in the final half-hour and never tried to recover.
Haaland’s goal in the ninth minute against Arsenal was canceled out by Gabriel Martinelli in the 90th minute after a back-to-the-wall approach for more than 80 minutes. City’s 33.2 percent share was the lowest from a Guardiola team in his entire top-flight career in management. This was partly due to the quality of Arsenal. But it showed how City could not remain heroes even for short periods of the game.
City were also judged against Monaco, at home to Bournemouth and now against Leeds. Impressive starts against Brentford and Villarreal also gave way to long periods of lost territory and unrelenting pressing. Even in the 4–1 win against Borussia Dortmund, although a fair reflection of the gulf between the two teams, Waldemar Anton’s consolation goal at 3–1 almost became a watershed moment.
Thankfully for City, Dortmund missed their next big chance and Ryan Cherky was able to wrap up the game late on, but when they should have been adrenaline-free the nerves set in again.
Work is in progress in the city. Going 90 minutes without a slump is unlikely for him at the moment, but a blistering start against Leeds – Foden scored in the first minute – should have been a clear path to an easier path.
After the game, Leeds manager Farke said that the only words he could think when his team conceded within a minute were the words which would get him banned from football for a year if he uttered them in public. He was happy to share his thoughts on Gianluigi Donnarumma coming off for treatment in the 56th minute, a stoppage during which the entire Manchester City team gathered around Guardiola for an impromptu tactical class.
In fact the interruption did little to impact Leeds’ resurgence. City were unable to create much pressure on the ball and Ruben Dias and Guardiol struggled with balls behind the strike duo of Calvert-Lewin and Lucas Nmecha.
This happened when Omar Marmoush was brought on in the 89th minute and he promptly saved a header as Leeds finally looked content to play for a point. Earlier, they had maintained their dominance and looked likely to score the decisive fifth goal.
This was a matter of concern for the city. Not only this, he had complete control and he lost it. It’s that they were unable to wrestle it back.
Guardiola, usually a manager who celebrates his players on the sidelines with enthusiasm, produced a far more hesitant performance in the second half. There were conversations with his assistant Pep Lijnders. He would contemplate the massacre that was about to happen but nothing really changed.
Only Cherky was introduced before the 89th minute. He did not believe that the solution lay in any of his other options. This isn’t a complete surprise, given how many of them failed in their audition for more confidence in the midweek defeat to Leverkusen.
The fire returned for Guardiola when Foden scored. He hurried to the touchline to instruct his players to observe 10 minutes of stoppage time. It was far from a solid performance, but they got over the line and, in time, maintained their presence as title challengers.
However, there will be no disappearing acts like the second half against Leeds, and the matter will be closed.
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