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Manchester City moved back within two points of Arsenal at the Premier League summit after a 1-0 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road, sealed by Antoine Semenyo’s sliding finish, with Pep Guardiola’s team holding firm despite the absence of leading scorer Erling Haaland through a minor training injury in the city where Haaland was born.
The decisive moment arrived in first-half stoppage time when Rayan Cherki released Rayan Ait-Nouri with a precise through ball and Ait-Nouri’s low cross was met on the slide by Semenyo, whose finish gave Manchester City the lead that endured through a tense second half against a determined Leeds side.
Guardiola’s team, missing Haaland after the minor setback in training, initially found attacking rhythm hard to locate, yet the win keeps pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race and underlines Manchester City’s ability to collect points even when the main striker is not available, especially in demanding away environments like Elland Road.
Leeds produced much of the early threat, pressing high and disrupting Manchester City’s build-up, with the hosts carving out several opportunities before the interval, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin sent a close-range side-footed effort wide from a pinpoint Brenden Aaronson cross in the third minute and Aaronson then wasted two further big openings.
Aaronson first poked wide from close range under tight pressure from Marc Guehi, then later went through one-v-one against Gianluigi Donnarumma but failed to stay calm, allowing Manchester City to escape, and those misses looked costly when Semenyo converted just before half-time to swing momentum towards the visitors.
After the restart Manchester City controlled possession for long spells, restricting Leeds to sporadic breakaways, yet Guardiola’s side created fewer clear chances than usual, with the best opportunity seeing Marc Guehi rise to meet a set-piece before goalkeeper Karl Darlow reacted superbly, clawing the header off the line to keep Leeds within reach.
Premier League Manchester City data debrief and key numbers
Leeds pushed late on, with Jaka Bijol almost rescuing a draw when a late header drifted wide, and frustration boiled over after the final whistle as Leeds manager Daniel Farke received a red card for foul and abusive language, capping a difficult night for the hosts who matched Manchester City’s shot count but not the finishing.
Since Haaland joined the Premier League ahead of the 2022-23 season, Manchester City have often coped well without the Norway international, winning 14 of 18 league matches played in his absence, drawing two and losing two, which equates to an average of 2.4 points per game and a 78% win rate during those fixtures.
In attacking output this season, Haaland’s 29 Premier League goal involvements are bettered only by Igor Thiago’s 19 and Semenyo’s 18, with Semenyo contributing 14 goals and four assists, while Semenyo had already scored at Elland Road earlier in the campaign for Bournemouth, becoming the first player to net there for two different clubs in one Premier League season since Robbie Keane achieved that in 2002-03 with Leeds and Tottenham.
Match statistics highlighted a finely balanced contest, as Leeds and Manchester City each recorded 14 attempts on goal, yet Leeds hit the target only twice compared to five efforts on target for Manchester City, and expected goals data also favoured the visitors, who posted 1.77 xG against Leeds’ 1.47 xG across the ninety minutes.
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Manchester City leave Elland Road with a narrow win, trimmed the gap to Arsenal, extended a strong record without Haaland, and benefited from Semenyo’s clinical touch, while Leeds reflect on missed chances, late pressure that went unrewarded and the dismissal of Daniel Farke after a performance that tested but did not defeat the reigning champions.
Story first published: Sunday, March 1, 2026, 2:05 [IST]
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