Manchester City narrowly surpasses Leeds

Phil Foden scored a stoppage-time winner as Manchester City recovered from losing a two-goal lead to beat Leeds United 3-2 in a dramatic encounter at the Etihad Stadium to return to second spot.

Foden put City ahead inside the first minute, and they appeared to be cruising towards three points when Josko Gvardiol made it 2-0 midway through the first half.

However, Dominic Calvert-Lewin's half-time introduction changed the game as the Leeds striker pulled a goal back and then won a penalty. Lukas Nmecha's spot-kick was parried by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the former Man City player followed up on the rebound to make it 2-2.

Leeds pushed for an unlikely winner, but were left heartbroken when Foden brilliantly squeezed a shot into the bottom-left corner in the first of 10 additional minutes.

The victory moves City back into second in the Premier League table ahead of Sunday's showdown between title rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, while Leeds stay 18th.

How the match unfolded

An already difficult task for Leeds became tougher 59 seconds in, as Foden met Matheus Nunes' cutback with a sidefooted finish that bounced in off the underside of the crossbar.

Foden was then denied a second goal on two occasions, first by a heroic block from Jayden Bogle, then by a flying stop from Lucas Perri.

Perri undid that good work when he punched the subsequent corner against Nico O'Reilly in the 25th minute, allowing Gvardiol to convert into an unguarded net.

But Calvert-Lewin came on at half-time and scored when Nunes failed to clear his lines four minutes into the second half. He was then scythed down by Gvardiol for a 68th-minute penalty, with Nmecha scoring at the second attempt.

Leeds spent long periods on the front foot at 2-2, only to be undone by another moment of magic from Foden, who brilliantly manoeuvred away from two challenges before firing home.

Foden gets City out of jail

Pep Guardiola admitted making wholesale changes to his starting line-up for City's midweek UEFA Champions League loss at home to Bayer Leverkusen was a mistake, and with their big guns rested, the hosts came flying out of the traps on Saturday.

Foden has enjoyed something of a revival following a quiet 2024/25 campaign, and his confidence was on full display when he opened his body to direct Nunes' centre – which arrived at an awkward height with plenty of pace – in off the bar.

The England midfielder was – alongside Jeremy Doku – at the heart of every City attack in the first half, and if not for Bogle and Perri, he could have had a hat-trick inside 25 minutes.

In truth, City should have gone into half-time more than two goals to the good, with O'Reilly wasting a glorious opening when the ball struck his shoulder and bounced into Perri's arms.

It looked like City would be made to rue those missed chances in the second half, as two defensive mistakes from Nunes and Gvardiol erased their lead. But Foden got his team out of a difficult spot.

Receiving Rayan Cherki's pass while off-balance, he pirouetted away from Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka, then worked half a yard of space to drill past Perri.

That moment could prove to be vital for City, though Guardiola will demand better defensive concentration away at Fulham on Tuesday.

Leeds left heartbroken after fightback

Leeds travelled to the Etihad having lost three straight games, with their two most recent defeats – against Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa – seeing them squander early advantages.

This time around, Daniel Farke's men showed impressive powers of recovery after falling behind but still came up empty-handed.

Leeds enjoyed a positive spell immediately after Foden's opener as they pressed with intent high up the pitch, and only a brilliant challenge from Gvardiol prevented Nmecha from breaking clean through on goal.

City's second goal appeared to have killed the contest, but Farke's decision to switch from a 4-3-3 system to a 5-3-2 shape, featuring two traditional centre-forwards proved inspirational.

There was a slice of luck about the way the ball fell to Calvert-Lewin for Leeds' first goal, while they were also fortunate to see Pascal Struijk's sliced clearance drop just wide of his own post at 2-2.

Leeds looked more likely to score the game's fifth goal as the home fans became worried late on, but Foden only needed a split second to stun the visitors, who have now failed to pick up a point since the end of October.

Things do not get much easier for Leeds, either, as they welcome Chelsea and Liverpool to Elland Road in the next seven days.