Manchester City close gap to two points at top after Semenyo sinks Leeds

Manchester City close gap to two points at top after Semenyo sinks Leeds For those wondering if Manchester City are overreliant on Erling Haaland, they offered a riposte at Leeds. It was neither a fluid nor entertaining victory but importantly it closed the gap at the top to two points, increasing the pressure on Arsenal in the process. It helps that when the league’s top scorer is absent, City can rely on the third man in the charts. Antoine Semenyo scored his 14th of the season on a difficult night for Pep Guardiola’s side, making the full-time euphoria well deserved after what felt like a significant win. A number of City players sunk to the turf once the whistle went, having called on all their reserves to get over the line. Emotions boiled over at the end as the ferocity of the match had taken its toll. Guardiola blew kisses and waved to the home fans who had aimed abuse at him while Daniel Farke made his views clear to the officials over perceived timewasting and the opponents confronted one another. The Spaniard was rewarded with more abuse and the German a red card, two inevitable outcomes on a night where nothing could be taken for granted. Maybe it was the lack of Haaland, whose return has no timeframe, or the vociferous nature of the home crowd but Leeds were the dominant force in the opening stages. There was more aggression and intent in their play, leading to Dominic Calvert-Lewin having a glorious chance to open the scoring but he skewed Brenden Aaronson’s cross wide. There was a stoppage in play after 13 minutes to allow the Muslim players to break their fast at sunset. This resulted in a chorus of jeers at Elland Road despite it being clearly indicated on the big screen why the match was paused. It created an incredibly uncomfortable atmosphere, especially for Rayan Aït-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov, who are observing Ramadan. Calvert-Lewin and James Justin came close as City struggled to match their opponents’ tempo. Wit...