Man City 3-2 Leeds United: Foden scores last-gasp winner to seal narrow win

Phil Foden scored twice to inspire a chaotic 3-2 win for Manchester City over struggling Leeds that moves them to second in the Premier League table.

Match Report

City appeared set for a routine success when they went 2-0 up in the first 25 minutes, with Foden only needing 25 seconds to score their opener.

He brilliantly turned Matheus Nunes' right-wing centre in off the underside of the crossbar, while only a fine block from Jayden Bogle and a flying stop from Lucas Perri denied the England international his brace.

Perri undid that good work when he punched the subsequent corner against Nico O'Reilly, though, allowing Josko Gvardiol to convert into an unguarded net. 

However, Leeds came storming back following the half-time introduction of Dominic Calver-Lewin. He struck after Nunes failed to clear his lines four minutes into the second half, then was scythed down by Gvardiol for a 68th-minute penalty. 

Nmecha saw his tame attempt parried by Gianluigi Donnarumma, down to the goalkeeper's left, but the Leeds striker followed in on the rebound to tap home.

Leeds then spent long periods on the front foot at 2-2, only to be undone by another moment of magic from Foden, who manoeuvred away from Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka before tucking a neat finish into the bottom-left corner, in the first of 10 additional minutes.

The victory sees City move back up to second in the Premier League table, four points behind Arsenal and two ahead of Chelsea, before they meet on Sunday. 

Data Debrief: Haaland kept quiet, but Foden spares City's blushes

Leeds-born striker Erling Haaland came into this game looking for his 100th Premier League game, but his wait to reach that landmark goes on after a quiet outing.

The Norwegian was limited to just one shot in the game, a tame header straight at Perri in the 88th minute.

Across all competitions, he has never had fewer shots in a home game for City when playing the full 90 minutes.

Fortunately for Pep Guardiola, another of his stars stepped up to save the day. Having scored City's earliest goal in a Premier League game at the Etihad since September 2019 (52 seconds versus Watford, scored by David Silva), Foden struck again at the death. 

City were good value for the points, though, having amassed 2.72 expected goals (xG) from 18 shots, compared to 1.51 xG from nine shots for Leeds.  

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

1' Foden gives Man City the lead in the first minute!! Man City 1-0 Leeds United

10' Gvardiol makes a great tackle

15' Highlight from Man City vs Leeds United

19' Foden's shot saved by goalkeeper

25' VAR Review: Goal allowed, onside! Man City 2-0 Leeds United (Josko Gvardiol)

42' Reijnders' freekick saved by goalkeeper

44' Nico's shot saved by Perri

45' Reijnders' shot stopped again in box

48' O'Reilly's shot saved

49' Leeds' first shot on target! Man City 2-1 Leeds United (Dominic Calvert-Lewin)

55' Yellow Card! Matheus Nunes booked

58' Yellow Card! Joe Rodon booked

68' Leeds United are LEVEL at the Etihad!! Man City 2-2 Leeds United (Lukas Nmecha)

73' Doku's cross nearly forced an own goal

87' Yellow Card! Donnarumma booked

88' Marmoush replaces Bernardo Silva

91' GOAL! Man City 3-2 Leeds United (Phil Foden)

Line-ups

Man City XI: Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Donnarumma, Haaland, Foden, Reijnders, Matheus Nunes, Nico González, Doku, Gvardiol, Nico O'Reilly

Subs: Ake, Stones, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Aït-Nouri, James Trafford, Cherki, Lewis, Savinho, Abdukodir Khusanov

Leeds United XI: Daniel James, Nmecha, Lucas Perri, Justin, Joe Rodon, Ampadu, Pascal Struijk, Jayden Bogle, Ao Tanaka, Ilia Gruev, Wilfried Gnonto

Subs: Byram, Calvert-Lewin, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Jack Harrison, Joël Piroe, Okafor, Illan Meslier, Jaka Bijol, Brenden Aaronson