Gundogan brace against Leeds takes Man City four points clear
City are four points ahead of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League after a 2-1 win over Leeds United.
Manchester City have a four-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, beating Leeds United 2-1 with a pair of near-identical goals from Ilkay Gundogan, extending their league winning streak to 10 games.
City’s prolific striker Erling Haaland gracefully handed the ball to Gundogan to take a penalty in the 84th minute for what would have been a hat-trick in Saturday’s game, but his shot hit the post.
City had been running circles around Leeds with numerous excellent scoring opportunities before Gundogan struck from the edge of the 18-yard block on a pass from Riyad Mahrez in the 19th minute. Mahrez put Gundogan down again eight minutes later in a copy of his first goal.
Rodrigo Moreno pulled one back for Leeds in the 85th minute.
With four games remaining, Pep Guardiola’s side have 82 points to Arsenal’s 78, and if the Gunners lose to Newcastle on Sunday, City will be close to an illustrious third consecutive title.
Leeds, playing their first game under interim manager Sam Allardyce, who was parachuted in in a last-ditch effort to avoid relegation, teeter in 17th place – with all three teams below them still a game in hand.
Despite numerous scoring chances, and while the crowd at the Etihad Stadium cheered him, Haaland failed to extend the Premier League record of 35 goals in a single season that he set on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Norwegian, who has broken the record books in his debut season in the Premier League, could have scored at least a couple of goals on Saturday, one shot off the crossbar, another off the post, and narrowly missed. a few others that made him shake his head in frustration.
Treble-chasing Manchester City, who face Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday, are unbeaten in 20 games in all competitions.
The odds were high against Leeds, who have been in freefall for weeks and have the weakest defense in the Premier League, conceding 69 goals in 35 games.
Elsewhere in the Premier League on Saturday, Chelsea won for the first time under Frank Lampard’s second spell in charge, beating Bournemouth 3-1 at the Vitality Stadium. Troubled Chelsea are now mathematically safe from relegation.
Harry Kane overtook Wayne Rooney as the Premier League’s second-highest goalscorer in Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 win over London rivals Crystal Palace.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa lost 1–0 to Wolves, further tarnishing Villa’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League.