Manchester City stayed one point clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to a 2-1 win over battling Leeds United, now managed by escape artist Sam Allardyce.
But a rare display of sentimentality made a very comfortable day for City rather awkward in the last five minutes. After putting in a man-of-the-match performance, the hosts’ captain Ilkay Gundogan had the chance to score his first Premier League hat-trick when Phil Foden won a penalty late in the game with the score at 2-0. As Pep Guardiola bellowed ‘you take it’ in the direction of Erling Haaland, the Norwegian handed the ball to his skipper.
Gundogan had a chance to complete his hat-trick so it was a kind gesture from Haaland. But surely, and I’m positive Pep Guardiola agrees with me, the Premier League is not a place for sentimentality and the Sky Blues’ recent dominance has been built on a combination of technical excellence and ruthlessness.
Unfortunately the usually brilliant Gundogan showed neither as his spot kick hit the post.
Guardiola was furious while, in the away technical area, the Leeds coaching team enjoyed the last few minutes of a newly absorbing match. Is Big Sam the man to save Leeds? Well, when the Sky Blues stormed into a two goal lead within half an hour and missed a hatful of other big chances it didn’t look too good for the Whites and their new boss. But that stroke of luck when Gundogan missed his penalty changed the game; and soon enough Rodrigo scored a superb breakaway goal gave the loyal Leeds fans reason to back their team.
Not many sides come away from the Etihad on the back of such a narrow defeat and the Whites certainly looked better organised in defence. Allardyce only had four games to turn things around at Elland Road and, despite the loss, he has already made some progress. With Newcastle United, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur to come, there are no easy games, but one win may well be enough and we might just see another last day escape for Leeds.
Chelsea get a win at last, but it wasn’t easy
In Saturday’s other Premier League 2023 updates there was a long awaited win for Chelsea. After losing his first six games in charge at Stamford Bridge (this time around) Frank Lampard led the Blues to a 3-1 victory away to Bournemouth. Perhaps it was the thought that the Cherries, who have spent almost the entire campaign fighting relegation, would have gone above Chelsea with a win that drove Lampard and his team on to victory. It looked like the Blues were heading for a draw until a late rally produced two goals which made the game look more comfortable than it actually was. Bournemouth’s Matias Vina equalised Conor Gallagher’s opener before Benoit Badiashile (82) and Joao Felix (86) struck late to win the three points.
Lamps said Chelsea were the better side but the stats tell the story of a tight game, the Blues winning the shot count by 11 to ten and five to four on target, while both sides won seven corners. Chelsea moved up to 11th place and the Cherries dropped to 14th and both teams are safe from relegation and miles away from the Europa League places.
Arsenal are up for the chase
Here at SBOTOP we asked whether Newcastle could shatter Arsenal’s title dreams and on Sunday afternoon we had an answer. The Geordies gave the Gunners a huge test which they passed with flying colours, winning 2-0.
Arsenal had a torrid start as the Magpies came out all guns blazing. In the very first minute Jacob Murphy rattled a post from 12 yards and then there was a long VAR review after the hosts had been awarded a penalty for handball, but the technology revealed the ball had hit Jakub Kiwior’s leg before his hand… so Arsenal were spared.
Having weathered the early storm the Gunners struck in brilliant style; and it was captain Martin Odegaard who led from the front again. Bukayo Saka slid the ball sideways and the Norwegian lashed home his shot past Nick Pope and low into the corner.
Newcastle hit the post again, at the start of the second half, when Alexander Isak’s header bounced back off the upright and then, as the game swung to the other end Gabriel Martinelli curled a shot against the Newcastle crossbar. A moment of luck gave Arsenal breathing space as Martinelli’s cross was diverted into his own net by Fabian Schar to make it 2-0.
The Premier League 2023 betting odds have backed the Sky Blues for some time now, and they are still heavily odds on; but the Gunners fight on.
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