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Manchester City were forced to settle for a point when Leeds United struggled to draw 1-1 at Elland Road.
Kevin de Bruyne came close to putting the visitors ahead after catching Illan Meslier waiting for a cross from a free kick. His quick thinking caused his free kick to break the post without the goalkeeper being seen anywhere.
But they would continue to make their early dominance count, as Raheem Sterling coolly stepped into the far corner to open the scoring.
City looked rampant at the time, but just as they did against Leicester, City fell and Leeds became the game.
Ederson came to his rescue before the break with a good save, but it was his mistake that gave Marcelo Bielsa a route back to the game.
His punch could only hit Benjamin Mendy’s back, leaving Rodrigo the simplest of opportunities to equalize.
Both teams had half a chance of winning the game, but a draw seemed the fairest result, in a fascinating encounter in Yorkshire.
Here are five talking points from the exciting giveaway:
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1. A clear transfer message
Guardiola’s defensive spending is well publicized. This summer alone, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake have signed deals worth a combined £ 100 million.
But they still seem susceptible on a regular basis. And although the means of their defense has improved, on the flanks, they are miles away from the best teams in Europe.
Benjamin Mendy, despite his wonderful attacking game, was singled out as a weak link by the methodical Bielsa. And it almost cost his team a goal with a lazy defense.
Nicolas Tagliafico of Ajax has been strongly linked and after seeing Mendy’s defensive display at Elland Road, there could be a call ahead of Monday’s deadline.
2. Return city
In his three games so far this season, Man City has come shooting off the blocks. In all three, however, they have fallen off the pace enormously from then on.
At Elland Road, a graceful and vibrant start gave way to a sloppy and buggy second half of the game. Although Leeds’ draw had more than a shred of fortune about it, his general malaise had set in much earlier and was only in line with his performance level.
It is something that will be worrying Guardiola and something that they will have to eliminate, sooner rather than later.
3. Sterling’s mixed night
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring with the kind of shot that injured Sergio Aguero would be proud of.
In the absence of Agüero and Jesús, Sterling had the title in a more central role.
He started the game excellent, with a wonderful goal, but he should have increased his account, but was unable to pull the trigger twice.
Sterling is a wonderful striker, but City need a long-term replacement to fill the void left by Aguero.
4. The brilliance of Bielsa
Guardiola told reporters before the game that Bielsa is the man “he admires the most in football.”
And the rest of the country is quickly learning to have the same opinion. Leeds have played the first two of last season in the first month of the season and have deeply impressed both.
Liverpool managed to beat them, but they more than deserved the point they won against Man City.
It looked like they might face a reality check in the first half, with City dominating the proceedings, but Bielsa responded by targeting his weak link in Mendy.
The addition of Ian Poveda at halftime helped even more and was another wildly impressive show from the whites.
After less than a month back in the top flight, they are already at the box office again.
5. More points behind
It may only have been four games on the season, but they have already lost five points for Manchester City.
They entered this season knowing they would need to revise a whopping 18-point gap to challenge Liverpool to the top of the table.
The Reds only lost 15 points in the entirety of last season and although they have played one more game, Jurgen Klopp’s men can already move 8 ahead with a win over Aston Villa on Sunday.
Of course, there is still a long way to go, but a gap is already opening up.
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