MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - MANCHESTER CITY 2-1 LEEDS UNITED

Image courtesy of telegraph.co.uk

Manchester City were dominant and superior as they beat Sam Allardyce's Leeds United 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium, with the low margin of victory very much flattering the visitors.

City were on the front foot from the off, with every Leeds player, with the exception of lone centre forward Patrick Bamford, sitting back behind the ball. The Leeds defence looked porous, however, as City were able to create chance after chance, and pick players out in the box in tight areas as well.

City took a deserved lead just shy of the 20 minute mark, as Riyad Mahrez's lay off towards the edge of the box was stroked first time in the bottom right corner by club captain Ilkay Gundogan, who was playing in the slightly unfamiliar role as the deepest lying midfielder.

Gundogan added his second just 8 minutes later, in very similar circumstances. It was Mahrez again who slid the ball towards him on the edge of the box, and, again, Gundogan was able to find the bottom corner, this time taking a touch and opting to shoot in the opposite corner. However, Allardyce, a man who prides himself on creating a solid defence, will be disappointed to essentially concede the same goal twice. Nevertheless, it was a brilliant finish from Gundogan, to score his 6th Premier League goal of the season, a number that doesn't reflect just how important he has been at the heart of City's midfield this season.

City missed numerous chances in both the first and second half, the vast majority of which came from star striker Erling Haaland. In total, there were 4 chances that you'd expect him to score, and the fact that he didn't finish them made the end of the game much more difficult than it should've been.

The biggest talking point of the game surrounds a penalty kick. In the 84th minute, a mazy run from the returning Phil Foden drew a foul from Pascal Struijk, to give the blues the chance to tie the game up. Usually, it'd be Haaland or Mahrez who takes the penalty, but the Norwegian handed the ball to club captain Gundogan to complete his hattrick. The German's penalty struck the post, however, and, just a minute later, Leeds United pulled a goal back through Spanish forward Rodrigo, after a rare mistake from Manuel Akanji, leaving Guardiola outraged.

City's manager was visibly annoyed on the touchline, shouting "You had to take it" to Haaland. But ultimately, I think Haaland made the right decision.

Given the fact that, since he was 18 years of age, he's been touted as the next big thing, and paraded around Europe by his father Alf-Inge Haaland and his former agent Mino Raiola, Haaland's ego is non existence. Always smiling and joking, and rarely complaining when the ball isn't passed to him, Haaland seems to be the perfect teammate on and off the pitch, and this generous action was showing support and respect to his senior teammate.

Could you imagine Kylian Mbappe giving up a penalty -in a game he hasn't scored in - to allow his captain to score his first ever senior hattrick? Or Cristiano Ronaldo? Or Lionel Messi? Or Zlatan Ibrahimovic? Or Neymar? Or Harry Kane? Or maybe even Sergio Aguero?

And, the thing is, Gundogan is by no means a poor penalty taker, scoring 16 of his 18 career penalties before the miss yesterday. If it was given to someone who had never taken/scored a penalty at senior level, for example, John Stones or Phil Foden, then it'd be a different story, absolutely. But, to me, this is just a sign of respect to a club legend.

This is what separates Haaland from the rest; his selflessness when it comes to putting the team ahead of his own desires. If Gundogan has scored his penalty, then the same people who were complaining about Haaland giving the penalty up would've been giving him no ends of praise for putting the team first. As it happens, both he and Gundogan have been criticised for this, showing the injustice of the entire situation.

I can understand Guardiola's annoyance, however, as had City drawn the game at the end, it could've had a potentially decisive impact on City's title race. But, it was a risk worth taking from Haaland, and the 22 year old Norwegian has only gone up in my estimations.

City are now 4 points clear at the top of the table, having played the same number of games as second place Arsenal. The Gunners will face Newcastle United at St James' Park today, which could well be win or bust in their title challenge. City are back in action again on Tuesday night, facing the mighty Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Los Blancos won the Copa del Rey yesterday with a 2-1 victory over Osasuna, so will go into that game with plenty of momentum. However, unlike City, they were unable to rest players going into the match, so the likes of Jack Grealish, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Ruben Dias will go into the game much fresher than any of Real Madrid's big players.

Here are the player ratings for yesterday's victory at the Etihad:

Ederson - 6.5/10 - He had very little to do, and couldn't have done a lot about the goal. Came out confidently a few times to claim a dangerous high balls into the City penalty area.

Lewis - 7.5/10 - Started off looking a little shaky and rusty, but grew into the game very much. Lewis is such a talented, silky player, and he should've got an assist, had Joel Robles not come out to close the angles down well on a Haaland effort.

Akanji - 6.5/10 - Had a compact and solid game overall, with the only exception being a mistake leading to the Leeds goal.

Laporte - 7.5/10 - Very, very composed performance from Laporte, playing in both the middle and the left of the back 3 in possession. He deserves a lot more playing time than he gets, and hopefully, if City win the Premier League early, he'll start at least one of the final two games of the season.

Ake - 7/10 - Kept his winger quiet, and made an excellent blocked interception to deny Wilfried Gnonto a tap in. Every City fan will be hoping and praying that there isn't a serious injury to Ake, and that he'll be fit enough to start in Madrid on Tuesday night.

Gundogan - 9.5/10 - Dominated the game in midfield, dictating the tempo and playing some simply outrageous passes. Wrapped it up with two excellent goals, and is one missed penalty away from a 10/10 performance.

De Bruyne - 8.5/10 - Alongside Gundogan, the 32 year old Belgian had more touches than usual, and tended to drop a little deeper to help with the build up more often than he usually does. Should've got an assist for Haaland, after a lovely flick, and played a brilliant ball out to Mahrez for the first goal.

Alvarez - 6.5/10 - A quiet game for the 23 year old, Alvarez struggled to have an impact on the game. He did however, battle ferociously to chase down a long ball, alongside Robles and a Leeds defender, somehow coming away with the ball, and was unfortunate to have his following shot cleared on the line.

Mahrez - 8.5/10 - Much better today from Mahrez. Playing much closer to the touchline than against West Ham, the Algerian tormented Junior Firpo, cutting inside and laying the ball off to Gundogan twice for two well earned assists.

Haaland - 7.5/10 - Yes, he didn't score, which he absolutely should've done. But what he did do, however, was provide a huge threat, get himself into dangerous positions, and create space for teammates. On a separate note, his dribbling seems to have improved significantly since he arrived at City, as shown by his involvement in the second goal.

Foden - 7/10 - Fairly quiet on the left hand side, as most of City's build up came down the right. The run for the penalty, however, was vintage Phil Foden, a player who'll be vital at the back end of the season for City.

Substitutes:

Walker - 7/10 - Looked aggressive and dominant in duels at right back, and offered an attacking threat on the overlap.

Bernardo - not enough time to rank

Rodri - not enough time to rank