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Leeds manager Daniel Farke has accused City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma of feigning injury to "bend the rules" in their Premier League fixture at Etihad Stadium

Leeds made the poorest start with Phil Foden scoring within the first minute, prior to Josko Gvardiol extended the hosts' advantage before the interval

Second Period Revival Thwarted

Nevertheless, the visitors rallied after the break after a adjustment of tactics and setup, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring straight away after the restart

Furthermore with City clearly struggling to deal with the adjustments just before Lukas Nmecha levelled, home goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma went down to receive attention, enabling boss Pep Guardiola to summon his team to the touchline and issue new instructions in the two minutes play was halted for

"Everybody understands why he went down," Farke stated

"It is not the obvious issue. Why he fell it was obvious. It is within the bounds of the rules. It is clever. If I like it? If it's in line with the spirit of sportsmanship? If it ought to be like this I will reserve to myself. It is for the authorities to determine a solution"

Manager's Frustration

"I ask the fourth official at this moment if you want to take action. Our hands are tied"

"Unless we teach our players in the game what to do in terms of sportsmanship and fair play and everything and if we just try to exploit regulations and actually do a fake injury in an attempt to do an extra team talk, it is not what I approve of personally. But if it is allowed by the rules I can't complain"

Late Deciding Goal

Phil Foden's stoppage-time decisive goal condemned Leeds to a sixth loss in seven top-flight matches to leave them eighteenth in the division, with only last-placed Wolves having scored fewer top-flight goals this season

Tactical Changes

Nonetheless, Farke, who has been criticised for a absence of boldness especially around substitutions, was almost rewarded for a courageous choice at the interval that nearly reversed their fortunes

Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Phil Foden, said that his side were only capable to regroup following Guardiola's touchline conference with his squad

"During the break we were in command. After halftime they emerged, harried us a lot more aggressively, they deployed two up top and altered the setup a bit," said Foden

"We genuinely had difficulty to get hold of the match. We assembled on the side of the pitch and changed a couple of aspects and it got better from there. That little break was vital to make corrections"

Encouraging Aspects for Leeds United

The last occasion Leeds United lost four straight successive Premier League games was in 2022-23, when their campaign ended with demotion

However, while Farke stated that "our main emotion is frustration", their second-half performance offered sufficient evidence to suggest they are able of halting their current form and climbing up the standings

"To show such a performance should provide us plenty of belief. If we show such spirit and unity we have a great opportunity to win the results," the manager continued

"We had the confidence before the match, during the fixture and following the encounter. Otherwise you cannot respond with a performance like that. We have great unity and determination in the dressing room"

Expert Analysis

Speaking on radio analysis, ex- Scottish club forward Chris Sutton said: "Everyone expected it to be a comfortable win for City, but it has been anything but comfortable in this second period"

"Leeds United can take a lot from this performance with the way they have performed in this second half"

"Following that were Daniel Farke's adjustments, who is often questioned for not being as proactive as he ought to be. Dominic Calvert-Lewin came on and roughed up the City defenders"

"It looked like it might be a massive turning point in Leeds United's campaign, but Manchester City discovered a measure of quality. They escaped with one this evening"