Leeds United Vs Man City: Semenyo winner, Farke’s formation and the shifting balance in leeds united vs man city
Antoine Semenyo's late intervention secured a 1-0 victory for Manchester City at Elland Road, a result that matters because City moved to within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal. The meeting framed both a continuing City scoring rebalancing and the visible transformation of Leeds United under Daniel Farke in the weeks since their Etihad defeat.
Semenyo seals win at Elland Road as City cope without Haaland
January signing Antoine Semenyo scored the only goal in a tense 1-0 win against Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday, with Manchester City missing the injured Erling Haaland. Semenyo's poacher's finish — reacting quickest to latch on to Rayan Ait-Nouri's cross and converting with aplomb — silenced a raucous and rowdy crowd. The victory moved City to within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal, who host Chelsea on Sunday and are due to meet City in April.
Numbers underline Semenyo's early impact and Haaland's earlier share of goals
Since signing from Bournemouth for £62. 5m, Semenyo has scored six goals in 11 appearances, making him the club's top scorer this year and easing the goalscoring burden on Haaland. Since signing for City he has scored four league goals and provided one assist, a goal contributions record bettered only by Chelsea pair Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro, who have six apiece. Semenyo has been involved in 18 Premier League goals; only his team-mate with 29 and Brentford's Igor Thiago have been involved in more.
By contrast, in late November Haaland had accounted for 58% of City's goals, taken 30% of their shots and held 57% of their expected goals, and he had scored 19 goals in all competitions. Burnley's Maxime Esteve was noted as City's second highest scorer in the league because of his two own goals in the game at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola's reaction and the Elland Road atmosphere
After the match Pep Guardiola strode onto the pitch and blew kisses in the direction of his family in the stands. He also described a hostile edge from the home support, saying Leeds fans had been throwing insults towards him during the game. Guardiola praised his players' workrate and pragmatism: "We made a lot of passes that we needed to do to survive without much intention to attack. The reaction was amazing - unbelievable with the goal we scored. A complete game in a tough, tough place, and 10 games left in the Premier League. Time to be decisive. " He added that City are focused on building players for the future: "Now we are building these players and they have a long, long time here. It is important for the future for the club. "
Leeds United Vs Man City: Farke's November switch and the season turnaround
Everything changed for Leeds United and Daniel Farke during half-time at Manchester City on November 29. The promoted side, who began that weekend in the relegation zone, were 2-0 down at the Etihad and their first season back in the Premier League appeared to be heading in only one direction. Farke changed the formation to 3-5-2 at the restart; Leeds may have fallen just short, losing 3-2 that day, but the switch proved to be the turning point for their season. Farke had never started with a back three as Leeds manager before that defeat, yet the transition was seamless. Days later Leeds bullied Chelsea to win 3-1 at Elland Road before pegging Liverpool back twice to draw 3-3 at home.
Wing-backs Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson explain the transformation
Gabriel Gudmundsson and Jayden Bogle sat down with Michael Dawson to explain how the tactical change has transformed Leeds ahead of the return fixture at Elland Road. Gudmundsson said, "We've changed the system. We've got a lot of confidence in that, especially with the games we've had directly with Chelsea and Liverpool. This is a really good group we have, we always stay together, no matter what. "
Farke's decision to start with a base of three central defenders and push the two full-backs further up the pitch addressed Leeds' shortcomings in wide forward areas and allowed two of his best players to get more involved in the attacking third. Leeds have started with three central defenders ever since and have become one of the hardest teams to beat in the Premier League, losing only twice and remaining unbeaten home and away against Chelsea and Liverpool over that period. Over a 14-game stretch Leeds are eighth in the Premier League form table after taking 20 points from a possible 42, leaving them sitting six points clear of relegation ahead of the return fixture.
Bogle described the wing-back role: "It's a joy to play. The main role is defensive first, but the freedom we get to go forward as well on both sides - sometimes we're both in the six-yard box and competing for the ball - and that side of it is nice. " He also recalled his goal in a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest earlier this month, a darting run in behind the defence that produced a composed finish past Stefan Ortega. "The manager gets us to make runs like that and try and catch teams off-guard, because you don't really expect it, [and gives us] that freedom to get into creative areas, " Bogle said. "When we've got the ball we want to be entertaining, we want to create. "
