Man City Square
Fansided

Manchester City 1-2 Leeds United: A bump in the road

By J.C. Gonzalez

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 10: Bernardo Silva of Manchester City and and Kalvin Phillips of Leeds United in action during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Leeds United at Etihad Stadium on April 10, 2021 in Manchester, United Kingdom. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 10: Bernardo Silva of Manchester City and and Kalvin Phillips of Leeds United in action during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Leeds United at Etihad Stadium on April 10, 2021 in Manchester, United Kingdom. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Manchester City’s incredible season suffered a slight shock as Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United managed an unlikely 2-1 win with a stoppage-time winner at the Etihad Stadium despite going down to 10 men. Leeds have now taken an impressive four points off Pep Guardiola’s men after earning a 1-1 draw at Elland Road in October.

More from Game Review

With City’s incredible run since December, a slight dip at some point was inevitable; no team can be perfect every time out. With such a massive gap in the Premier League table, it’s much better that this match came against Leeds rather than in the Champions League or another cup competition.

Rivals Man United can close the gap at the top of the table to eight points if they win both of their games in hand, but with only six games remaining at that point, City will still be heavy favorites. From this point, however, they must not let this result become a pattern.

City have been England’s best team this season and are more than worthy of the title of champions. Losing to a 10-man newly-promoted side at home courtesy of a Stuart Dallas brace is far from ideal, but City’s response will be important.

Next. April 2021 Will Define Manchester City’s Season. dark

They have faced adversity earlier in the season and responded brilliantly to take such a massive lead in the Premier League. Now, it will be up to Pep Guardiola and company to find that fire again to get City over the finish line with just six more league games to go and crucial cup matches. This stretch will define how we remember this season, and the real work is about to begin.