Man City player ratings vs Leeds with two 8/10s as Rayan Cherki good
Manchester City player ratings from the Manchester Evening News for their 1-0 win over Leeds in the Premier League
Rayan Cherki shone as Manchester City beat Leeds
Manchester City clung on at Elland Road to earn a vital 1-0 win over Leeds in the Premier League. Antoine Semenyo gave Pep Guardiola’s side the lead in first-half injury time and they kept their clean sheet despite intense pressure from the home side in the final 15 minutes.
City started sluggishly as Leeds, buoyed by the news that Erling Haaland had not travelled with the Blues as a result of injury, took the game to the visitors. Semenyo and Omar Marmoush struggled to get on the ball as Leeds put City under considerable pressure in the first 30 minutes.
But the title challengers found their feet, scored when they were on top, and then held their nerve in the final moments to move two points behind Arsenal again with 10 games to go. Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News.
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Donnarumma: Does the simple things so well and his shutout of Aaronson gave the platform for City to go and score. 7
Nunes: An excellent last-ditch block on Calvert-Lewin at the start of the second half after finding space down the right in the first. 7
Guehi: Lost out in some early battles but showed his quality and awareness in a few key moments. 7
Dias: Looks like he is enjoying Guehi as a partner and found his feet as the base of City’s possession. 7
Ait-Nouri: Showed courage and intelligence on the left to break through the Leeds defence on multiple occasions. 8
Rodri: One mistake that could have been costly but he is looking like the metronome of the team again. 7
Silva: Another all-action performance that involved several positions and running all over the pitch. 7
O’Reilly: His power and aggression was craved and it is a worry that he limped off in the second half. 7
Cherki: Came into the game after a rough start, making quality contributions to cut open the Leeds defence. 8
Semenyo: His feet can be too quick for his brain but he embraced the physical battle and then showed his nous with the first goal. 7
Marmoush: If you were only picking one forward to keep their place when Haaland returns, Semenyo won in every category. 5
Substitutes
Savinho (for Marmoush, 68) Didn’t really make an impact. 6
Reijnders (for O’Reilly, 70) Some promising runs. 6
Ake (for Cherki, 88) Too late to mark
Not used: Trafford, Stones, Khusanov, Foden, Doku, Gonzalez
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