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All even
Less than a week after Man City’s humiliating defeat to Leicester City, the Blues drew 1-1 on the road at Leeds United.
The Citizens were dominant in the first half taking the lead through a sensational effort by Raheem Sterling in the 17th minute.
Leeds came on strong in the second half and were rewarded when Rodrigo equalized off a corner.
It was a very open highly entertaining affair with numerous chances on both ends of the pitch.
What transpired
The Citizens came out the gate flying with the bulk of the play in the Peacocks end for the first 20 minutes.
They were unlucky to take the lead when talisman Kevin De Bruyne struck the woodwork off a brilliant free-kick three minutes in.
The Blues finally got the breakthrough a minute later when Sterling beat two defenders and found the far corner with a brilliant low curling shot.
Marcelo Bielsa’s team finally woke up late in the half and was close to drawing level.
In the 37th minute, Stuart Dallas was sent through but Ederson did well to cut down the angle.
Benjamin Mendy nearly gave away the lead just before the half.
His poor control sent Luke Ayling in all alone but Ederson made a brilliant save.
The tactical adjustments made at half-time seemed to kick Leeds into high-gear.
A miscue off a corner by Ederson in the 59th minute deflected off Mendy to Spanish substitute Rodrigo who fired home the equalizer.
That goal seemed to wake up both teams who were eager to walk away with three points.
Ederson made up for his previous error in the 70th minute when he deflected Liam Cooper’s header onto the bar.
City regained control and had three half appeals for penalties that were looked at by VAR and then dismissed.
Ultimately both teams got a deserved point.
On Fire
It may have been his first goal of the Premier League season but Raheem Sterling has been clinical of-late in front of goal.
Fresh off a two-goal performance in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie the number 7 now has 14 goals in his last 18 matches.
Strong debut
In his first match since signing a six-year-deal, Ruben Dias play very well.
The 23-year-old had an air of calmness at the back with some strong incisive passing.
With City under increasing pressure in the second half, some well-timed challenges helped keep the Leeds attack at bay.
All in all, it was a solid debut for the Portuguese center-back.
Stats
If you look at the statistics you’ll see it was a very even match.
Leeds had 53% possession to City’s 47 with both sides clicking at an 82% pass accuracy.
Ederson stopped 6 of 7 shots on target by Leeds, many of them from close range.
Only 2 of Man City’s 23 efforts found the target.
What this means
City sits 10th in the standings for the moment with 4 points.
Leeds United is 5th.
Next up
City will have an extended break before their next game which is October 17 against Arsenal at the Etihad. (JSL)
