Manchester City move two points behind Arsenal after 1-0 win at Leeds
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo (left) celebrates his halftime goal with Rayan Ait-Nouri (right).
PHOTO: AFP
- Manchester City beat Leeds 1-0 with Antoine Semenyo's goal, putting them two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal in the title race.
- Semenyo's crucial strike came just before halftime. Erling Haaland missed the match due to a "little injury," as confirmed by Pep Guardiola.
- Leeds had several good chances but could not score. Manager Daniel Farke received a red card after the final whistle due to his protests.
AI generated
LEEDS, England - Manchester City kept the pressure firmly on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a nervy 1-0 victory at Leeds United on Feb 28, pulling within two points of top spot courtesy of Antoine Semenyo’s strike on the stroke of halftime.
City, who were without league-leading scorer Erling Haaland, were made to work at Elland Road, but the victory put Pep Guardiola’s side on 59 points. Arsenal, who have also played 28 games, host Chelsea on March 1 as the title race tightens.
Leeds had the better first-half chances, including a couple of near-misses by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, before Semenyo scored his sixth goal for City in first-half injury time.
Rayan Ait-Nouri was sent through on the left side of the box and Semenyo slid to touch home his square ball from close range.
“It means everything,” Semenyo told Sky Sports on cutting the gap to two points.
“I think we just want to win all our games and whatever Arsenal do we just have to wait and see.
“We just need to control what we can control, win our games, and yeah, we’ll see what happens. But we’re all happy.”
Second-placed City’s win was their fifth in six league games.
Haaland missed the match with what Guardiola called a “little injury” in training this week. Rayan Cherki started in his place.
Leeds boss Daniel Farke made a beeline for the referee after the final whistle and was quickly shown a red card.
Buoyed by recent draws with Chelsea and Aston Villa, Leeds were on the front foot from the start and Calvert-Lewin missed a gilt-edged chance when he inexplicably fired wide and sent another shot from a tight angle trickling past the far post.
City settled into their game and started dominating possession before Semenyo’s goal.
Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo (second from right) scores the winning goal against Leeds United on Feb 28.
PHOTO: AFP
Leeds kicked off the second half with the same energy as they did the first and Calvert-Lewin latched onto a ball from Anton Stach only for Matheus Nunes to charge in and clear it.
Marc Guehi nearly doubled City’s lead late in the game but his header was clawed out by Welsh goalkeeper Karl Darlow.
Leeds kept pressing and Jaka Bijol headed a corner just wide in the dying minutes as Farke held his head in disbelief.
His are in 15th place with 31 points from 28 games, six points above the relegation zone. REUTERS
