Antoine Semenyo made the difference at Elland Road.
Manchester City narrowed the gap at the top of the Premier League back to two points as they claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win at Leeds United.
Much had been made of Leeds’ performances in evening kick-offs at Elland Road heading into a testing fixture for Pep Guardiola’s men as they aimed to pile the pressure on league leaders Arsenal ahead of their meeting with Chelsea on Sunday.
The visitors had to withstand a strong start from Daniel Farke’s men, but they were rewarded for doing so in first-half stoppage time when Antoine Semenyo broke the deadlock from point-blank range.
City were rarely troubled after going ahead, and Guardiola will no doubt be thrilled with the professional manner in which they saw out the victory a week on from performing a similar rearguard action in last week’s 2-1 win over Newcastle United.
Leeds boss Daniel Farke was evidently not happy at full-time, the German shown a red card for a tirade at referee Peter Bankes, having seen his side slip to a defeat that keeps them only six points above the relegation zone.
Manchester City come through another stern test
Dominic Calvert-Lewin should have put Leeds in front in the fifth minute, but he somehow managed to skew wide with the goal at his mercy after being picked out by Brendon Aaronson’s right-wing cross.
Calvert-Lewin then wasted another promising opportunity by firing across the face of goal before James Justin drew a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Leeds’ intensity eventually began to fade late in the first half, and it required a stunning save from Karl Darlow to prevent Nico O’Reilly from heading in the opener.
Yet there was nothing Darlow could do to stop Semenyo from finding the net as an excellent City move ended with the Ghana international slotting home from Rayan Ait-Nouri’s low left-wing cross after the full-back had been played in down the flank by an excellent Rayan Cherki pass.
City managed the game well thereafter, and they would have made it 2-0 had Darlow not produced another outstanding save to claw away a Marc Guehi header.
Jaka Bijol headed wide from a corner late on in what proved to be Leeds’ final chance, with tempers boiling over following the final whistle, Farke seeing red and his players having to be separated from their opponents after seeing their considerable efforts count for nothing.
