Manchester City beat Leeds United 2-1 on Saturday to reinforce their position at the top of the Premier League table.
A first-half brace from Ilkay Gundogan put City in control, but after wasting a host of chances, Pep Guardiola’s side were made to sweat by a late Rodrigo strike.
City are now four points clear of title rivals Arsenal with just four league games remaining, and are in a strong position to become only the second team to win the Premier League in three consecutive seasons.
Here what MCN spotted at the Etihad Stadium.
Get the chequebook out
When asked about Ilkay Gundogan’s future a few weeks ago, Guardiola said:
“I love him, I adore him. I am married, but I still love him.”
It’s easy to see why the City boss feels that way.
Gundogan is in the final months of his contract, and if he leaves the club at the end of the season City will struggle to find another midfielder in his mould.
His two first-half strikes were almost identical, both showcasing the 32-year-old’s ability to arrive at the edge of the box at just the right moment.
Two Riyad Mahrez cut-backs, two sweeping Gundogan finishes. It would have been three had he not hit the post with a late penalty – Guardiola wasn’t please that he – and not Haaland – took the kick.
City must convince Gundogan to stay at least one more year.
Haaland malfunction
No player has ever scored more than the 35 goals Erling Haaland has put away in the Premier League this season, but the 22-year-old endured a frustrating afternoon at the Etihad.
Haaland couldn’t convert any of his six attempts, spurning three big chances and hitting the woodwork once.
Anyone watching their first City match this season would be forgiven for thinking the striker hadn’t scored in months, such were the increasignly comedic ways in which he kept failing to score.
Having already scored 51 times in 2022/23, the robot was probably due a malfunction.
The importance of being Rico
18-year-old Rico Lewis didn’t play a single minute of City’s previous eight league matches, but he returned to the starting XI on Saturday and reminded everyone of his immense talent.
With City dominating possession, the right-back spent much of the afternoon tucked into midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan, a role that is second nature to him.
Ahead of the match, Guardiola spoke about how Lewis helped teammates John Stones and Kyle Walker improve when ‘inverting’ into midfield.
His senior colleagues have more experience, but of the three Lewis is streets ahead in terms of creativity and composure on the ball.
Rotation is key
Guardiola made seven changes to the side that beat West Ham 3-0 a few days earlier, but if Leeds were hoping for a disjointed City performance, then they were sorely disappointed.
Rodri, John Stones, Ruben Dias and Jack Grealish were all rested ahead of a trip to Spain for a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid next week.
City will want to avoid allowing Arsenal to reclaim the initiative in the title race, but if they can keep getting results while rotating then they will.
Concern for Ake
The only blot on City’s afternoon was the withdrawal of Nathan Ake through injury.
The Dutchman has arguably been City’s best defender this season, so there was concern when he pulled up holding his hamstring during a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich last month.
Ake missed just three games before returning to action, but early in the second half he appeared to suffer another hamstring issue.
With two games against Real Madrid coming up in the next 11 days, the issue could not have arisen at a worse time.
