{"id":1199450,"date":"2021-04-10T15:22:15","date_gmt":"2021-04-10T14:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1199450"},"modified":"2021-09-10T19:35:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T18:35:00","slug":"man-city-leeds-match-analysis-dallas-premier-league","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/man-city-leeds-match-analysis-dallas-premier-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Man City 1-2 Leeds Utd: Five things learned as Dallas channels Red Devils duo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester City saw their march towards a third Premier League title in four seasons temporarily halted as Leeds United produced an upset at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marcelo Bielsa’s side ended the game with 10 men but secured the club’s first top-flight away win at Man City since January 2001 thanks to a 2-1 victory, in the process boosting their chances of a top half finish.<\/p>\n

Moments after Stuart Dallas had put Leeds ahead against the run of play, captain Liam Cooper saw red just before half-time for a high tackle on Gabriel Jesus. As you can expect, Man City huffed and puffed and finally got their reward deep into the second half when Ferran Torres ended a nine-game scoring drought.<\/p>\n

But the game took another turn when Dallas popped up to record a famous win in stoppage time. As the dust begins to settle, here are five things we learned from this incredible encounter.<\/p>\n

1. Long-range specialist
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Heading into this weekend’s game you expected nothing less than a fearless Leeds performance. Marcelo Bielsa’s side aren’t exactly renowned for being pragmatic, which explains why their games are some of the most entertaining in this season’s Premier League. But early on against Man City it became apparent they wouldn’t be seeing much of the ball as Guardiola’s men controlled proceedings albeit never quite troubling Illan Meslier or placing him under a sustained period of pressure. And that proved costly near the stroke of half-time when a speculative effort from defender-cum-midfielder Stuart Dallas found its way past Ederson.<\/p>\n

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It happened to also be Leeds’ first attempt on goal all game as well as their 27th strike outside Elland Road during this campaign, putting them only behind Man City (30), Liverpool (29) and Leicester City (28) when it comes to producing the goods on the road. Another interesting aspect of Dallas’ strike was this being Leeds’ 11th goal from outside the box (seven of those coming away from home, with Dallas himself responsible for 43% of the entire total) which is a Premier League high.<\/p>\n

2. Evergreen Fernandinho
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Second-guessing a Guardiola team selection is fast-becoming a futile exercise but given the Premier League leaders are currently fighting on multiple fronts, it’s to be fairly expected. Then again seeing Rodrigo, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, R\u00faben Dias and Ilkay G\u00fcndogan as subs was eyebrow-raising. Dias, arguably the league’s standout central defender in Virgil van Dijk’s absence, starting on the bench meant a different partner for John Stones and in this instance it was a welcome return.<\/p>\n

After missing 16 of Man City’s last 17 league outings due to a hamstring injury, Nathan Ak\u00e9, a summer acquisition from Bournemouth,\u00a0 returned to first-team Premier League duties. His previous six outings saw Guardiola utilise him either in central defence or at left-back where Benjamin Mendy, a former Bielsa pupil at Marseille, started, meaning Oleksandr Zinchenko returned to a midfield spot which skipper Fernandinho anchored ever so well even in defeat.<\/p>\n

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The 35-year-old Brazilian, who has been sparsely used this season, was stationed in front of Stones and Ak\u00e9 but despite the position he was was given the licence to maraud forward as often as possible. There were times he echoed the Man City boss at his pomp with the way he glided before setting up a pass. He ultimately completed 60 total passes in the opposition half whilst creating no fewer than five chances. He should have seen one of those converted minutes before the break when Raheem Sterling dragged a shot wide from close range. When the visitors went a man down Fernandinho became more ambitious going forward most notably producing a scintillating effort from distance but even he couldn’t prevent what transpired late on. It was nevertheless a standout performance and on days like this you can understand why Fernandinho who is expected to depart at season-end has already received offers for his services from Brazil and Europe.<\/p>\n

3. Second half woes <\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Leeds are the first ever opposition team to win at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League having played 45+ minutes with 10 men.<\/p>\n

A Marcelo Bielsa masterclass. ? pic.twitter.com\/70XVTCJ8gS<\/a><\/p>\n

— Squawka (@Squawka) April 10, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n