Foden double sees off stubborn Leeds

Phil Foden struck in the first minute - and again in the first minute of added time - to secure a 3-2 win over Leeds United.

The Blues had seen a two-goal half-time lead erased as a rejuvenated  Leeds fought back to make it 2-2.

There had looked to be only one winner as goals from Foden and Josko Gvardiol gave the Blues a deserved advantage at the break.

But defensive errors led to Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulling one back just after the restart and Lukas Nmecha levelling despite Donnarumma initially saving his penalty,

It looked to be heading for a point apiece until Foden took matters into his own hands, cutting into the box from the right before drilling home the winner to send the Etihad wild.

The game in 250 words

City couldn’t have made a better start.

It took just one minute to take the lead with a well-worked team goal that will have delighted Pep Guardiola.

Matheus Nunes collected the ball, played it inside to Bernardo and his threaded pass back to Nunes saw the Portuguese cross perfectly for Phil Foden to volley home off the underside of the crossbar from six yards out.

Not much happened in the way of talking points again until the 25th minute when the Blues went 2-0 up.

Phil Foden’s corner found the head of Nico O’Reilly dropped invitingly for Josko Gvardiol who prodded home from a couple of yards out.

A lengthy VAR check followed, but the possible Bernardo offside was cleared.

Nico and Tijjani Reijnders went close to adding a third but there was no further scoring before the break.

The visitors made two attacking substitutions at the start of the second-half, and one of them, Dominic Calvert-Lewin capitalised on a Nunes misjudgement to slide the ball home.

The Blues struggled to find any rhythm, and rarely threatened as the half wore on and on 68 minutes, we were punished again as Calvert-Lewin was felled by Gvardiol’s challenge and a penalty was awarded.

Lukas Nmecha saw his spot-kick saved by Donnarumma, but the rebound fell back to the ex-City player to tap home.

It was a turnaround nobody had seen coming and looked very much like two points dropped given Leeds’ lowly position.

But with 10 minutes of added time just announced, Foden stole the headlines with a terrific low drive from 12 yards.

Line-ups

CITY: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Nico, Bernardo (Marmoush 88), Reijnders (Cherki 75), Foden, Doku (Stones 90+5), Haaland

Subs:: Trafford, Ake, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Khusanov, Lewis

LEEDS UNITED:  Perri, Bogle, Justin, Rodon, Struijk, Ampadu, Tanaka, Gruev, James (Calvert-Lewin 46), Gnonto (Bijol 46) Nmecha

ATTENDANCE: 52,483

Subs: Meslier, Byram, Gudmundsson,  Harrison, Aaronson, Okafor, Piroe

Star Man

An easy choice, Phil Foden’s brace bookended a victory that was hard-earned for City.

The brightest spark on the pitch, the Blues need Foden - and others - to find the net when Erling Haaland doesn’t and his display will have delighted his manager.

Not vintage but vital

It was not a stellar City display by any means, but the result was the most important aspect of this game.

The Blues are still a work in progress and, at times, a little rough around the edges.

Retaining possession is not as easy as it once was and Pep Guardiola will be concerned about the amount of times we gave the ball away against Leeds.

But getting back to winning ways was vital - the confidence and polish will return.

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What it means

City move up to second in the Premier League, four points adrift of Arsenal who take on third placed Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

It also means the Blues are currently the division’s top scorers with 27 goals scored so far.

Up next

City travel to West London on Tuesday, 2 December to take on Fulham in the Premier League.

The game at Craven Cottage kicks off at 19:30 (UK).

Then we host Sunderland next Saturday, 6 December with the clash against the Black Cats kicking off at 15:00 (UK).