Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed he was so stunned by two Leeds players that he had to tell the cameraman not to show their stunning five-minute highlights.
Pep Guardiola gives a nod to two Leeds United players after 3-2 loss to Man City
A tale of two halves between Leeds United and Manchester City, as a spirited second-half display proved not enough after a late Phil Foden goal.
Phil Foden spoke out about Daniel Farke’s half-time tweak, which completely turned the game on its head as Leeds United overcame a two-goal deficit.
The disappointing start really proved to be the undoing of Leeds United, as an extremely ordinary start to the game had Man City breaking the record for the fastest goal this season.
Chris Sutton also spotted just how ‘odd’ it was to see Pascal Struijk almost looking content with the two-goal losing position as he took an age in the first-half.
These types of things can’t be happening if Leeds United are to stay in the Premier League, as the opposition week-in-week-out is simply too good.
Pep Guardiola acknowledges Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha’s awkwardness up top
Daniel Farke made two substitutions in an attempt to mix things up at half-time and it certainly worked.
Jaka Bijol and Dominic Calvert-Lewin came on for Dan James and Willy Gnonto, resulting in a switch to three at the back, three across midfield and two up top.
The show of intent from Farke worked fantastically, as Leeds found themselves level.
Pep Guardiola even took notice of the impact both strikers made in tandem during the second half, with both ending up on the scoresheet.
He said when speaking via the BBC.
“After Daniel [Farke] changed shape, long balls to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha running behind, it was always a struggle. That emotion is part of the football. We had the chances and at the end finally we found our goal.”
Pep Guardiola praised Leeds United’s performance, particularly highlighting the contributions of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha, after Manchester City’s thrilling 3-2 win. Calvert-Lewin scored a crucial goal and won a penalty, while Nmecha converted the spot-kick to equalize for Leeds ¹ ².
Guardiola commended Leeds’ fighting spirit, saying, “Fantastic second half, we fully deserved to equalise… Man City is a side full of superstars, and then one minute of magic from Phil Foden… heartbreak and unlucky for my players, but they should take a lot of pride and confidence, especially out of the second half” ¹ ².
Leeds manager Daniel Farke also praised his team’s performance, stating, “We played today one of the best sides, not just in the UK, one of the best sides in the world and definitely the best manager in the world”
