TITLE RACE REALITY: DANIEL FARKE PUTS MAN CITY AHEAD OF CHELSEA AND ARSENAL
Leeds boss Farke claims Man City and Pep Guardiola are the world's best, warning title rivals Arsenal and Chelsea that City is the team to beat.
Daniel Farke thinks if Arsenal or Chelsea want to win the Premier League, they'll have to beat Manchester City, which he considers one of the best teams in the world, led by the best manager in the world, Pep Guardiola.
Man City barely edged out Farke’s Leeds United 3-2 at home, moving them up to second place in the Premier League.
Phil Foden scored early, putting City ahead within a minute.
It looked like an easy win for Manchester City when Josko Gvardiol made it 2-0 in the first half.
But Leeds, who are trying to avoid relegation after moving up from the Championship, made a comeback, tying the game with goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha in the second half.
After losing to Newcastle United the previous week, it looked like City would drop points again. But Foden scored in added time, pushing Guardiola’s team to second place, ahead of Chelsea by two points.
Chelsea could take back that spot and get within three points of first-place Arsenal if they win their game against them.
Before last season, when they finished third, Manchester City won four league titles in a row under Guardiola. They were behind Arsenal by three points and Liverpool by 13.
Man City hasn't been consistent this season, but Farke warned Arsenal and Chelsea that Guardiola’s team is still one of the best in the world.
First, congrats to Pep and Man City, Farke said after the game. Today, we played one of the best teams, not just in the UK, but worldwide.
They’ve been the most successful team here for the last ten years, and they have the best manager.
Manchester City has superstars all over the field, and Phil Foden's great goal made the difference.
It's tough and unlucky for my players, but they should feel good about their performance, especially in the second half.
We didn't just come for praise; we needed points. We started the game badly.
Usually, you need to win set pieces to get points here. I have to praise my guys because they deserved something from the game.
Manchester City's Phil Foden said that the title chase has been tough, but he hopes the win against Leeds will help them move forward.
"That was a crazy game," Foden said. We controlled the first half, but they switched things up in the second, and we struggled.
It was frustrating, but the manager got us together during a break, and we adjusted to their formation.
We had a few chances, and I finally found some space to score. We can still improve, but we’re happy with the win.
The title race is never easy. There are always ups and downs and times when you can’t get going. We’ve been there.
Our belief and teamwork showed at the end. Hopefully, we can build on this, but you never know.
Guardiola said he would be watching closely when Arsenal plays Chelsea.
Arsenal, who haven’t won the league since 2004, have only lost once this season (to Liverpool) and have only allowed six goals in 12 games.
I was relieved when he scored at the end; it shows he’s a big player, Guardiola said. I was relieved, yes.
The game wasn’t perfect in the first half, but we should have finished it with the chances we had.
Getting the three points after two losses is huge for our mood. It’s good to be second, and we’ll see what happens with Arsenal and Chelsea tomorrow.
It’s important to be as close to the top as we can and try to stay there until the end.
RED CARD MYSTERY: WHAT DID DANIEL FARKE SAY TO THE REFEREE AT FULL-TIME?
Daniel Farke was sent off at full-time as Leeds United fell 1-0 to Man City despite multiple missed chances by Calvert-Lewin.
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Leeds United faced off against Manchester City under the Elland Road lights, hoping to keep their impressive home record alive. The atmosphere was electric, and Leeds started strong. Just four minutes in, they should've been ahead. Jayden Bogle slipped a perfect pass down the right, Brenden Aaronson whipped in a great ball, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin found himself unmarked six yards out. Somehow, he sent his shot wide.
That was only the beginning for Leeds. They kept creating chances. Calvert-Lewin spun past Marc Guehi in the box but fired narrowly wide. Aaronson had another go, poking a shot wide off another Bogle cross. Their best opportunity, aside from Calvert-Lewin’s miss, came when Anton Stach sent Aaronson through one-on-one. The American’s first touch let him down, and Gianluigi Donnarumma scooped up the ball.
City barely got a sniff early on, pressed back by Leeds’ energy. But once they settled, Pep Guardiola’s side found its feet and carved out a couple of decent openings. Filling in for the injured Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush forced a sharp save out of Karl Darlow with a low shot from the left. Seconds later, Nico O’Reilly wasted a free header, aiming it straight at Darlow.
Pascal Struijk then came up big, cutting out a dangerous Marmoush chance after O’Reilly sliced open the defence. The first half looked set to finish goalless until Rayan Cherki produced a bit of magic in stoppage time. He sliced through the Leeds back line with a gorgeous pass, finding Rayan Ait-Nouri down the left. Ait-Nouri’s cross found Antoine Semenyo, who crashed home from close range. City up 1-0 at the break.
No changes after halftime. Leeds kept pushing. Stach picked out Calvert-Lewin on the left, but Matheus Nunes blocked the shot, forcing a corner. City struck back with a quick chance of their own; Nunes crossed for Marmoush, who flashed his shot wide. Marmoush was in the thick of it again as the hour mark passed, stretching to meet a Ruben Dias cross-shot but sending it well wide.
City started turning the screw. Ait-Nouri smashed a shot just over the top corner, and Semenyo forced a deflection for a corner. From there, Darlow pulled off a brilliant save to deny Marc Guehi’s header.
Farke tried to shake things up. Lukas Nmecha came on for Aaronson, then Dan James and Willy Gnonto entered for Bogle and Gruev. Leeds switched to a back four and threw everything forward. Gnonto got stuck in right away, helping whip in a series of crosses as the crowd roared, desperate for an equaliser.
James swung in a beauty from the left, and late sub Jaka Bijol rose highest, but his header flew wide. That was Leeds’ last real chance. They threw bodies forward in the final minutes, but couldn’t find a way through and felt robbed when a strong penalty shout for handball went ignored.
City managed the final six minutes of stoppage time, hanging onto their narrow lead. Even then, the drama wasn’t over. As soon as the final whistle blew, Daniel Farke stormed onto the pitch to confront referee Peter Bankes. Bankes didn’t hesitate, flashing a red card and sending the Leeds boss off.
SCOTT PARKER LABELS LATE ASHLEY BARNES HANDBALL DECISION AS "SO HARSH."
Burnley 3-4 Brentford: Read Scott Parker’s reaction to the VAR drama, Ashley Barnes’ disallowed goal, and his "pure pride" today.
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Scott Parker couldn’t hide his pride, even after Burnley’s gut-wrenching loss to Brentford. He didn’t get too deep into the late VAR drama; either he just didn’t want to.
Honestly, that doesn’t even cover how wild this match was. Drama everywhere. Burnley had not one but two goals chalked off. They clawed their way back from three goals down, somehow levelled it at 3-3, only to see all that hard work undone at the very end.
When someone asked Parker if he felt robbed by those bizarre VAR calls (which dragged the game out forever), he just shrugged. “I’m not sure,” he said.
“We’ve had some tough results this year, and I’ve talked about disappointment and frustration before. I’ve probably even said I was proud of the team when we got a result.
“But today? Today, I just feel pure pride. More than ever, actually. I’m proud of these players, of everything they did out there.
“Sure, we picked our game apart. We were harsh at halftime, and we needed to be. We started slow. We were soft in too many moments. But the way this group responded – their spirit, their determination, the way they fought back – I can’t help but feel proud.”
After the final whistle, Burnley fans were furious. Ashley Barnes thought he’d equalised, but VAR ruled it out for an accidental handball. Watching the replays, nobody could say for sure whether the ball even touched his arm.
Parker didn’t have much to say on the incident. “Honestly, I haven’t even seen it back,” he said. “I caught it on the big screen. It looked like his hand was by his side.
“I don’t want to go too far; someone will quote me, and maybe I’m wrong, but it just feels so, so harsh.
“We scored five goals in about an hour, which is incredible when you think about it.
“We got ourselves back in it. But this is the world we’re in now. Everyone’s chasing perfection, whether it’s the game or just a photo you take of yourself. That’s football now.
“So, the first goal’s offside by a tiny margin. That’s just how it is. When you have the technology, you can always fall back on it. Well, it’s the correct decision. ’ Depends what you want, really. Yeah, it’s disappointing.”
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