Ederson’s mistake cost Man City a goal, but their forward-less setup cost them points at Leeds

LEEDS, England – It was an error by Ederson that allowed Leeds United to draw a 1-1 draw with Manchester City at Elland Road on Saturday, but Pep Guardiola only needs to look across the field to understand the reason behind the result. .

After an impressive game fabricated by two of the world’s most revered coaches, Pep Guardiola and Marcelo Biesla, City had managed 23 shots on target. The problem was that only two got it right and only one entered.

Without Sergio Agüero or Gabriel Jesús, City fights for goals. In the end, Guardiola’s team had been reduced to frantically engaging half-penalty shouts and shots from afar, while Leeds scampered around the other end in search of a winner of their own.

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At one point, Raheem Sterling, who put City ahead in the first half with his first Premier League goal of the season, ran but couldn’t even shoot before Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier put him down. It seemed that if that opportunity had fallen into the hands of Agüero, it would have been 2-1 and City would have gone with the three points. With no sign of another striker arriving before Monday’s transfer deadline, Guardiola will be desperate to have him back.

“We had very good moments in the first 30 minutes where we were able to make a bigger margin in our result,” admitted the City manager.

Leeds, meanwhile, continues to gain new fans. After four games, two of them against Liverpool and City, he is fifth in the table, having scored nine goals and conceded eight. His first season back in the top flight since 2004 will be fun.

“We did our part to make the game beautiful, but City also played a very important role in making the game beautiful,” Biesla said. “Physically, mentally and technically they are a very powerful team. They played with a natural inclination to attack. It was a very intense match.”

Guardiola said beforehand that having Biesla, the man he “admires most in world football”, in the Premier League is “good for England” and that it was fitting that their first meeting on these shores was played in typically English conditions. Guardiola vs. Bielsa, two exponents of beautiful football, felt he deserved a more exotic backdrop than a Yorkshire cold in October and pouring rain – the show was akin to ordering a piña colada at a workers’ club.

If the weather was a disappointment, football certainly wasn’t. Two teams determined to swoon for their goalkeeper and apply fierce pressure on the edge of the opposing penalty area when they didn’t have the ball will usually make for an entertaining game and risk, reward, mistakes and opportunities will turn into an exciting game. . 90 minutes.

Kevin De Bruyne hit the post with a three-minute free kick that nearly caught Meslier after he had strayed too far. It unleashed a period of dominance for City and by the time they got ahead after 17 minutes, they had already had eight attempts.

The goal when it came was typical of Sterling. He enters from the left, a feint to switch to a defender, then a shot with his right foot from the far corner. It was a goal of beautiful simplicity, but unfortunately for Guardiola, it was the only piece of genuine attacking quality his team could muster.

Ederson had ensured they went into the break with a goal up after producing a good save from Luke Ayling after the Leeds right-back took advantage of a Benjamin Mendy error. But it was the Brazilian who took care of the equalizer, dropping a Kalvin Phillips corner at the feet of Rodrigo, who spun and scored just three minutes and six seconds after entering as a substitute.

“The error is part of the human being,” Guardiola said. “We also created four or five chances to score. In 12 years at the press conference I never say we lost because of this” [mistake] and that “.

It was clear where he thought the game had been decided.

Ederson at least atoned with an acrobatic save from a Rodrigo header that seemed destined for the top corner, and spoke all about Guardiola’s concern over Leeds’ ability to quickly break through that two of their changes were defensive. First, Nathan Ake replaced Mendy before Fernandinho replaced Riyhad Mahrez.

Ederson was needed again nine minutes to go when Patrick Bamford passed, and the final whistle blew with Leeds just barely beating the possession statistics. Not many teams do that to Guardiola, much less one that was playing in the Championship last season.

A bigger concern for City is that they could find themselves eight points behind Liverpool on Sunday night if champions Jurgen Klopp win at Aston Villa.

“I know we have to win games to be up but I’m not going to start, after three games, to start thinking if we’re going to win the league,” Guardiola said. “It is what it is. I know the situation: where we are, how we finished last season, the players we have. I’m more than satisfied with what we’ve done so far. You know how tough the league is and how difficult it is. opponents don’t drop much. “

Guardiola has too much experience to panic after three games, but he will feel much more comfortable when Agüero and Jesús are back.