Following disappointing defeats against Newcastle and Leverkusen, Manchester City immediately pressed to secure their sixth consecutive Premier League home win, with less than a minute played when Matheus Nunes delivered a cross inside the box for Phil Foden to control and unleash a precise shot into the top corner of the Leeds goal.
Even for a team that had only beaten the league’s bottom club Wolves away this season, it was a nightmare start, and with City then dominating possession in the following minutes, it seemed only a matter of ‘how many’ and ‘when’.
The answer to ‘when’ came in the 25th minute, as Joško Gvardiol scored on the rebound after Leeds failed to clear a Foden corner, with his first goal of the 2025/26 season surviving a VAR check.
Regarding ‘how many’, City supporters with longer memories might recall the momentum from nearly four years ago, when they thrashed the Whites 7-0 here following an opener from Foden.
On that occasion, they led 3-0 at halftime, but Leeds managed to avoid such a heavy defeat this time, preventing any further damage before the break.
Leeds manager Daniel Farke had previously faced criticism for his slow substitutions, but after replacing Daniel James with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, he responded impressively. Almost out of nowhere, Leeds pulled one back just four minutes after the restart, with the former Everton player firing low inside the left post after a rebound.
Leeds then gained the upper hand for several minutes, although with City having scored between the 55th and 70th minutes in each of their last five home league games, there was always a feeling that Pep Guardiola’s side could step up again.
They would soon regret not increasing their lead, as Calvert-Lewin won a penalty around the 75th minute after being fouled by Gvardiol inside the box.
Lukas Nmecha stepped up to try and shock his former team, and although his initial penalty was saved, he scored on the rebound, leaving Gianluigi Donnarumma helpless to prevent the equalizer.
With the scores level, Leeds now had the chance to do what seemed impossible at halftime: end City’s 25-match unbeaten streak against newly promoted teams in the league.
Having been the team to hand City their last loss to a newcomer back in April 2021, Leeds felt a strong responsibility to repeat that achievement in front of the current crowd.
However, Leeds’ main goal remained to hold on for a draw, but they fell short in the first minute of added time when Foden scored from the edge of the box following a pass from Rayan Cherki.
It was a true ‘escape’ moment for City, who still enter December seven points behind leaders Arsenal, while Leeds could find themselves three points from safety by the final month of 2025.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
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