Leeds United vs Manchester City. Premier League.
Elland Road.
Match report and highlights as Rodrigo cancels out Raheem Sterling's opener in 'dream of a game' at Elland Road
Sunday 4 October 2020 07:08, UK
Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola were reunited as Manchester City and Leeds played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in a deluge at an empty Elland Road.
Raheem Sterling's third goal of the season gave the visitors the lead, but Leeds fought back and levelled when Rodrigo pounced on a mistake by Ederson (59).
Rodrigo also forced the City goalkeeper into a fine save as Leeds grew into the contest in the second half, while Sterling's late appeals for a penalty for a challenge from Liam Cooper were denied as the points were shared.
The result leaves Guardiola's men 10th in the Premier League table ahead of the weekend's remaining fixtures, while Leeds sit fifth with seven points from their opening four games.
Guardiola sought to surprise Bielsa by playing Riyad Mahrez as the 'false No 9' with Sterling operating on the left, but it was Illan Meslier who received the greatest surprise early on when Kevin De Bruyne's disguised free-kick crashed against the post after just three minutes.
Gary Neville described City's start as "relentless" as the rain fell and the chances kept coming as both debutant Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte headed wide from corners.
When the breakthrough came, it was an uncharacteristic mistake from Cooper as he failed to clear and the Leeds captain compounded his error by over-committing himself before Sterling cut inside to find the bottom corner.
But Leeds have shown a refusal to bow down to anyone - and their return to the biggest stage has been worth the 16-year wait. After pushing Liverpool all the way in a narrow defeat, Bielsa's side came into the contest having won two games in a row, and they fed off City's vulnerabilities.
Before the half was out, Stuart Dallas had forced a smart save from Ederson before a sloppy mistake from Benjamin Mendy allowed Luke Ayling a sight of goal, but Ederson was once more alert to make a vital stop.
Encouraged by those chances, Bielsa made a switch at the break as Ian Poveda replaced Ezgjan Alioski to target Mendy. Tyler Roberts was then replaced by Rodrigo and, after flashing a warning sign over from the angle, the club-record £27m signing capitalised on a poor error of judgment from Ederson to level.
Kalvin Phillips' set-piece squirmed out of his gloves and, after the ball ricocheted off Mendy, Rodrigo was on hand to shovel it over the line. It signified him becoming the first Spanish player to score for Leeds in the Premier League, netting just three minutes and six seconds after coming off the bench.
Guardiola was incongruous on the touchline when Leeds very nearly completed the turnaround as Ederson atoned for his mistake to tip Rodrigo's header over the bar from Ayling's cross.
"This is like Rocky against Apollo Creed!" said Neville on commentary. "It is absolutely incredible. This is a dream of a game to watch - it's like an Under-9s game!"
City regained the initiative as referee Mike Dean waved away two penalty appeals in quick succession in the final 10 minutes - Leif Davis blocked Bernardo Silva's shot with an outstretched arm before Sterling went down under a challenge from Cooper.
Dallas was fortunate not to see red for a late challenge on Silva in stoppage time upon VAR review, but a late dismissal would have tarnished a game full of blood and thunder.
As Guardiola and Bielsa came together exhausted after this breathless encounter, however, City were left to reflect on two further points dropped in their quest to regain the title.
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa: "It was a very difficult game - the beginning and the end was all City. At the end of the first half and the beginning of the second was all us. For us to be on equal terms, it pushed us to our limit.
"At the beginning of the game, we couldn't take our game to them and they dispossessed us very easily. It was a game in which both teams tried to win and this is the conclusion I take from the game.
"We could've lost but we also could've won."
Man City boss Pep Guardiola: "It was good, huh? Both teams wanted to attack and it was a good game and a fair result. We played an incredible first 30 minutes but couldn't score more goals.
"This is a team that until the final whistle fight and are there. We knew it, but the team with the situation that we have with our pre-season, a lot of players out, they showed incredible behaviour. Unfortunately we couldn't win but we move on.
"I'm not complaining for one second - I'm sad for the players who aren't here, but those that are deserve all the credit. They made good build-ups with the goalkeeper and put a lot of players behind our midfield line so it's not easy to play against them.
"Last season in the Championship and so far this season, they've shown what a good team they are. We made a good game and a different game to the one we usually do, but we had good chances in the first half to kill the game in the first half."
In this punch-for-punch slugging match, Sterling kept his head while all around him were losing theirs. In the continued absence of Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero, the England forward rose to the occasion as his side's most potent weapon in his preferred position cutting in from the left.
He took his finish well, meaning he has now scored more goals than any other Premier League player in all competitions since the start of last season (34).
Throughout a crazy 90 minutes, Sterling managed five key passes and had five shots - more than any other player - while he completed 21 of his 23 passes.
Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp:
"That was exceptional, players playing at a high level. Marcelo Bielsa made a couple of good substitutions. Poveda came on and caused Mendy so many problems that City had to take him off in the end. A high-level game, really enjoyable, played at such a good pace."
Sky Sports' Micah Richards:
"I wouldn't say Pep will be concerned yet. He would've liked it to be nine points from nine, of course, but the one thing I have to state is that City have not had a great pre-season.
"There's teams that have finished a couple of weeks before them and have looked more refreshed. I saw towards the end of the game that Leeds were coming into it with more energy. In the first five games, you don't get to full fitness anyway but City aren't fully up to speed yet."
After the international break, Leeds host Wolves on Monday Night Football on October 19; kick-off 8pm.
Manchester City host Arsenal on Saturday October 17, live on Sky Sports, in the Premier League; coverage starts at 5pm with kick-off at 5.30pm.
