Laborious-charging Manchester Metropolis went 4 factors away from Arsenal on the prime the Premier League on Saturday, beating Leeds United 2-1 with a pair of near-identical objectives from Ilkay Gundogan, stretching their profitable league run to 10 video games.
Metropolis’s prolific striker Erling Haaland graciously handed the ball to Gundogan to take a penalty kick within the 84th minute for what would have been a hat-trick, however Leeds keeper Joel Robles had no bother turning apart his shot.
Pep Guardiola’s facet had run circles round Leeds with quite a few wonderful scoring probabilities earlier than Gundogan struck within the nineteenth minute from the sting of the 18-yard field off a cross from Riyad Mahrez. Mahrez teed up Gundogan once more eight minutes later in a carbon copy of his first purpose.
“We performed an distinctive sport,” Guardiola advised BBC. “Our possession sport was actually good. First half was distinctive. We have been possibly not as scientific as we ought to be.
“The second half, we can not neglect it’s three video games in six days with a whole lot of psychological strain. On the finish, the sport might be over with the penalty. However they rating and we have now to endure. However we performed actually, actually good.”
Guardiola had needed Haaland to take the penalty, yelling: “You are taking it!”
“The sport will not be over,” the Spaniard stated. “It reveals how good and beneficiant Erling is. Whether it is 4-0 with 10 minutes left, OK. However at 2-0? Erling is the perfect penalty taker proper now so he has to take it.”
Rodrigo Moreno pulled one again for Leeds within the eighty fifth minute.
With 4 video games left, Metropolis have 82 factors to Arsenal’s 78, and if the Gunners lose to Newcastle on Sunday, Metropolis would be the overwhelming favourites to lock in a 3rd consecutive title.
Leeds, taking part in their first sport beneath interim supervisor Sam Allardyce who was parachuted in in a last-ditch effort to keep away from relegation, are teetering in seventeenth place – and all three groups beneath them have a sport in hand.
Allardyce admitted it regarded certain to be a blowout at halftime, however Leeds “modified when it comes to pushing up the pitch.”
Regardless of quite a few scoring probabilities, and with the Etihad Stadium crowd cheering him on, Haaland was unable to increase the Premier League single-season document of 35 objectives he set earlier within the week.
The 22-year-old Norwegian, who’s operating roughshod over the document books in his debut Premier League season, might have had no less than a few objectives on Saturday, clanging one shot off the crossbar, one other off the publish, and narrowly lacking a few others that left him shaking his head in frustration.
“Right now Erling might have scored two or three objectives. He performed extremely properly, in his motion and the whole lot… how he fought for us,” Guardiola stated.
Treble-chasing Manchester Metropolis, who play Actual Madrid on Tuesday within the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, are unbeaten in 20 video games by means of all competitions.
The chances have been stacked towards Leeds, who’ve been in freefall for weeks and have the leakiest defence within the prime flight, with 69 objectives conceded in 35 video games.
This story has been printed from a wire company feed with out modifications to the textual content. Solely the headline has been modified.