Ilkay Gundogan scores twice as Man City increase their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points; nevertheless, Gundogan's late missed penalty and Rodrigo's goal left room for an unlikely Leeds comeback.
Sam Allardyce lost his first game as Leeds' manager as a result of a first-half double by Ilkay Gundogan for Manchester City, which held on to win 2-1 and move four points clear at the top of the Premier League.
As the champions increased the pressure on title rivals Arsenal ahead of their Super Sunday trip to Newcastle, Gundogan scored twice in the first 27 minutes at the Etihad Stadium to all but end any prospect of Leeds enjoying a new-manager bounce under Allardyce.Before Gundogan, who was going for a hat-trick, took a penalty and struck the post ahead of record-breaking scorer Erling Haaland, and Leeds' Rodrigo scored 58 seconds later, City was cruising to a comfortable victory.
The late drama left Pep Guardiola furious and gave rise to hope that Allardyce might just be able to lead Leeds, who are still outside the relegation zone on goal differential, to safety before the season is up. City would go on to win the league for the tenth time in a row.
To advance four spaces clear, a City survives a late scare.
Illan Meslier was benched by Allardyce for the first time this season in a Premier League match due to his poor play, but Joel Robles, who took Meslier's place, faced frequent criticism from City's dominating first-half offensive.
After Robles stopped Haaland from scoring his 36th league goal of the season and Julian Alvarez missed a golden opportunity, City finally made their dominance count as Gundogan slammed the ball home at the near post off of a cutback from Riyad Mahrez.
After Kevin De Bruyne's exquisite pass, Haaland's lackluster day in front of goal began, but City's second goal—almost an exact replica of their first—came soon after.