Manchester City

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Antoine Semenyo's winner silenced a raucous and rowdy crowd with a real poacher's finish, reacting quickest to latch on to Rayan Ait-Nouri's cross and converting with aplomb.

"We made a lot of passes that we needed to do to survive without much intention to attack," said Pep Guardiola.

"The reaction was amazing - unbelievable with the goal we scored. A complete game in a tough, tough place, and 10 games left in the Premier League. Time to be decisive.

"Now we are building these players and they have a long, long time here. It is important for the future for the club."

Semenyo is taking the goalscoring burden off Erling Haaland's shoulders - only his team-mate with 29 and Brentford's Igor Thiago (19) have been involved in more Premier League goals than Semenyo's 18.

Since signing for City, Semenyo has scored four league goals and provided one assist, a goal contributions record which is bettered only by Chelsea pair Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro, who have six apiece.

In late November Haaland had scored 58% of City's goals, taken 30% of their shots and had 57% of their expected goals (xG).

He had scored 19 goals in all competitions. Burnley's Maxime Esteve was City's second highest scorer in the league thanks to his two own goals in the game at Etihad Stadium.

Now, while Haaland's impressive haul of 29 goals for the campaign still leads the way, Semenyo - and others - are silencing those who feared City were too reliant on the Norwegian's goals.

Read more analysis on City's win at Leeds here

Pundits Alan Shearer and Ashley Williams join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Newcastle 2-3 Everton

• Liverpool 5-2 West Ham

• Leeds 0-1 Manchester City

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Coming to a raucous Elland Road and leaving with all three points. despite being second best for large periods, is the type of result that many a title-winning side has had before.

With 10 games remaining, Manchester City are right in the mix.

They have put pressure back on Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, who host Chelsea on Sunday (kick-off 16:30 GMT) when the Gunners will be aiming to re-establish a five-point advantage at the top.

City scraped past Leeds without Erling Haaland, who missed out on playing against the club his father used to represent.

Manager Pep Guardiola said the Norwegian was not fully fit, so it remains to be seen whether Haaland will be involved against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

But £62.5m man Antoine Semenyo showed why City splashed out for him, bolstering the goal threat in the final third and displaying the nous of his absent team-mate with a poacher's finish.

Nico O'Reilly had scored in his past two league games and almost found the net again when he leapt to meet Matheus Nunes' cross, but the Englishman's bullet header was pushed away by Karl Darlow's reflex save.

Play was briefly halted during the first half to allow players to break their Ramadan fast, with the stoppage being loudly jeered and whistled by large numbers in attendance.

Man City boss Pep Guardiola, speaking to BBC MOTD: "We made a lot of passes that we needed to do to survive without much intention to attack. The reaction was amazing, unbelievable with the goal we scored. Complete game, in a tough, tough place and 10 games left in the Premier league. Time to be decisive.

"Now we are building these players and they have a long, long time here. It is important for the future for the club."

On new signings standing out: "Cherki, for me, is the best game. Solidity and aggressive with the ball. All of them were really good - commitment and they stick with the gameplan. Now, in that part of the season - how is the mindset?

"After nine months, everyone knows what they want to do. Especially the game for the gap of the Champions League is a bit bigger and that is so important for the club. Only English club that has been in 10-11 years every year in the Champions League."

On Erling Haaland: "We don't have spies in the training centre to deliver the info to our media. I think it is not a big issue. We will see."

Listen to more from Guardiola on BBC Sounds here

Manchester City goalscorer Antoine Semenyo, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "Definitely a big one. Every game is a big one until the end of the season. We just want to win as many as we can and keep the pressure on.

"They made it tough, lots of crosses. They have a lot of guys who are good in the box good aerially, we wanted to make good contact and put them off and clear our lines.

On Rayan Aït-Nouri's assist: "I know when he gets to the line he wants to smash it across so I made the movement in front and it just landed in the right place to tap it in.

On if he will be keeping an eye on Arsenal tomorrow: "I try to wind down, try to not watch anything and just relax. We'll see what happens."

Did you know?

• Since the start of 2022-23, Manchester City have won 14 of their 18 Premier League games without Erling Haaland (D2 L2), taking 2.4 points per game and achieving a 78% win rate without the Norwegian.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Leeds' performance

What did you make of Man City's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Image source, BBC Sport

Manager Daniel Farke has named the same 11 that drew with Aston Villa seven days ago.

Leeds XI: Darlow, Bogle, Justin, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Stach, Ampadu, Gruev, Aaronson; Calvert-Lewin

Subs: Perri, Bornauw, Bijol, Longstaff, Tanaka, James, Gnonto, Nmecha, Piroe

However, the big news from Elland Road comes from the Manchester City camp, with top scorer Erling Haaland not in the squad.

The reason behind the Norway international's absence is unknown, though we'll be hearing from Pep Guardiola shortly.

Man City XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait Nouri; Rodri, Cherki, Silva, O'Reilly; Semenyo, Marmoush

Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Dokue, Nico, Sainho, Khusanov, Foden

Image source, BBC Sport

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30)

• Burnley v Brentford

• Liverpool v West Ham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Newcastle v Everton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Leeds v Manchester City (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Liverpool v West Ham" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v Everton", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

This will be a great game. I was at Etihad Stadium when these two teams met in November, and it was a real turning point in Leeds' season.

City were 2-0 up at half-time but Leeds boss Daniel Farke put Dominic Calvert-Lewin on and had a real go.

They fought back to 2-2 and although they still lost to a last-gasp Phil Foden goal, that performance transformed them - they've been a different team in recent weeks compared with the way they started the season.

This is the sort of game where, if you are a City fan, you are thinking we have to go to Elland Road and win if we are going to win the title.

Leaders Arsenal did exactly that a few weeks ago, and blew Leeds away.

Can City do the same? I am not sure - especially if we class this Saturday evening kick-off as a night game, because Leeds' record in those under Farke is extraordinary - out of 21 so far, they have won 18 and drawn three.

It's hard to call, so this was one of the games where I was thinking: "What would Einstein say?"

He was better at physics than he was at predictions, but I reckon he would have calculated that the floodlights will inspire Leeds again - but City will still come out on top.

So, my theory is that City will win. They don't have the same control in midfield any more, but they have so much firepower - as well as Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush and Antoine Semenyo are both in good form.

Haaland is not exactly playing a different role now, but he is showing what an intelligent footballer he is. I don't see Leeds keeping them out.

Sutton's prediction: 1-3

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Paul Birch
BBC Sport journalist

Title-chasing Manchester City have a difficult match at Leeds as they hunt for a win to put the pressure back on rivals Arsenal. BBC Sport looks at the key themes going into the game at Elland Road.

Manchester City's title credentials face the sternest of tests as they take on one of the trickiest trips in the Premier League - Elland Road under the lights.

Pep Guardiola's advice to his City players after securing a hard-fought win over Newcastle last Saturday was to unwind with caipirinha and daiquiri cocktails and "enjoy life".

However, any relaxation they felt on their days off will be quickly shaken out of them the moment they step out to a wall of noise on Saturday.

As one of the most atmospheric stadiums in the Premier League, Leeds fans make Elland Road as intimidating as possible for opposition players, particularly at night.

They have not lost any of their past 25 league or play-off matches at home that kicked off after 5pm for nearly three years, since a 6-1 defeat by Liverpool in April 2023.

Their home record this season has seen them lose just three of 13 league games, with two of those against the other sides making up the top three with City in Arsenal and Aston Villa.

Daniel Farke's side are on a run of just two defeats in 14 league games, but eight of those have ended in draws. The Leeds boss will be keen to turn one point into three given how fierce the relegation battle is set to be. They are currently six points clear of the bottom three with 11 games to go.

It has taken Farke's side 11 fewer games to match their points tally from their last Premier League season of 31, which resulted in relegation. Getting over the magical 40-point mark looks set to be the minimum requirement to survive this time round.

One omen for Leeds fans: Manchester City have only conceded two or more goals in three of their past 52 Premier League games against newly promoted teams - however, two were against Leeds (Leeds won 2-1 in April 2021, City won 3-2 in November 2025), while the other was against Farke's Norwich in September 2019 (City lost 3-2).

City looking to put pressure back on Arsenal

Manchester City can at least draw on the fact they have won their past two matches at Elland Road. They last secured a trio of victories there on their opening three visits between 1924 and 1928.

With this game coming a day before leaders Arsenal play Chelsea at home, Guardiola's side know they can ramp up the pressure on the Gunners with a win, something they have been good at doing of late.

Their only defeat in their past 14 Premier League games when playing the day before Arsenal (W10, D3) was a 2-1 loss at Newcastle earlier this season.

City's talisman Erling Haaland speaks affectionally about Leeds, but showed the city of his birth zero mercy on his only previous visit there with a brace. He could become the first visiting player to score two or more goals in consecutive Premier League matches at Elland Road.

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Not again?!

The Champions League last-16 draw is out and there is a sense of deja vu for Manchester City and Real Madrid as the two sides have been drawn to face each other once more.

City came from behind to earn a highly impressive win at the Bernabeu in December in the league phase of the competition and may have to do similar if they are to progress to the quarter-finals.

By the end of the second leg next month, City and Real will have faced one another 11 times in the past five seasons.

On facing the La Liga giants again, boss Pep Guardiola said: "It helps for our club.

"As much as we play against the best teams in the whole history of the competition you learn and improve and you will be better in the future."

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Leeds at Elland Road (kick-off 17:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Jeremy Doku had his first training session on Thursday but Guardiola was unable to give a timeframe for his return. He said: "I don't know. We will talk to the doctors afterwards."

• Otherwise, there are no new injury concerns with everyone "very good" and "trained really well in the last two days".

• On facing Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League: "As much as you play against the best teams in the whole history of this competition, you learn and you improve and you're better in the future."

• Guardiola said his players "have had a rest" in the last two weeks as they've only been playing on weekends but the training sessions have been "really good" too.

• In response to facing Leeds, who have a strong home record: "Elland Road is Elland Road. We are ready for the challenge again. I've not been many times. Incredible stadium with a good vibe. There are a lot of Premier League stadiums that are traditional and this is one of them."

• He said the late kick-off during Ramadan will play no part in his team selection as his players "will take care" and "know how to handle these situations" because "they are used to it".

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to live commentary of Leeds vs Manchester City on BBC Radio 5 Live from 17:30 GMT on Saturday.

Got a question about City? Get in touch here and we'll put it to our experts

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City travel to Leeds United on Saturday knowing they can apply some pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal by clawing back the deficit to two points.

Mikel Arteta's men face a difficult home game against rivals Chelsea on Sunday, so it could prove to be a crucial weekend in the title race.

City boss Pep Guardiola faces the cameras this afternoon and is likely to be asked about the tough Elland Road trip and whether the ongoing Islamic month of Ramadan affects his plans.

The Spaniard will surely be asked about being drawn against La Liga giants Real Madrid in the Champions League again.

Image source, Getty Images

The Champions League last-16 draw has been made and a route to the final has been plotted for all six Premier League sides in the competition.

The first legs will be played on the 10 and 11 March, the second on 17 and 18 March.

Here are the ties:

• Atalanta v Bayern Munich

• Atletico Madrid v Tottenham

• Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal

• Bodo/Glimt v Sporting

• Galatasaray v Liverpool

• Newcastle v Barcelona

• Paris St-Germain v Chelsea

• Real Madrid v Manchester City

Get live reaction and consider your route to the final here

Daniel Austin
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Fans of the Premier League's six wealthiest clubs are paying an average of £74 per ticket for each match they attend, while ticket revenues are soaring, according to data from a new report.

The Uefa European club finance and investment landscape report shows that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham earned an average of 19% more money from selling tickets for home matches in 2025 than in 2024.

Among Premier League clubs, Arsenal made the most per fan, per match, earning an average of £89 per ticket.

The biggest increase in ticket income was earned by Liverpool, who made 27% more than the previous year, for a total of £120m.

The figures include matches in all European and domestic competitions and comprise the average price for general admission and hospitality tickets.

The data shows all 20 Premier League clubs made a combined total of £920m from ticket sales last year - an increase of £90m from the previous year.

That total is almost double the total of £514m in ticket income earned by Spanish clubs.

Nine Premier League clubs feature in Europe's top 25 for gate revenue, with the wealthiest six all in the top 11.

The report shows the 20 Premier League clubs are well ahead of their European rivals when it comes to overall revenue, earning a combined total of £6.5bn.

That is almost double the revenue of the next highest division, Germany's Bundesliga, whose 18 clubs made a total of £3.4bn.

Of the 25 clubs who generated the most revenue, 11 were English.

But those revenues did not mean the Premier League clubs turned a collective profit, as only five made a profit while 15 made losses and across the division, there was a combined pre-tax loss of £559m.

Chelsea - with £355m - made the second-highest loss in European football history while Spurs (£129m) were the the third-biggest losers in 2025, with Aston Villa fifth (£85m).

Read Dan's piece in full

Arsenal and Manchester City are considering bids of £30m for Atalanta left-back Honest Ahanor. Chelsea are also interested in the 18-year-old Nigerian. (Caught Offside), external

Newcastle United are looking at Brighton's Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and City's English stopper James Trafford, both 23, as they target finding a long-term successor for England international Nick Pope, 33. (The i Newspaper - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Eintracht Frankfurt's 22-year-old Germany defender Nnamdi Collins is the subject of interest from Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, Brighton and Brentford. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Elliot Anderson insists he remains focused on his form and Nottingham Forest amid links to Manchester City and Manchester United.

The England midfielder has been Forest's standout performer this season as they battle relegation from the Premier League.

Anderson is preparing to face Fenerbahce in the Europa League play-off as Forest aim to reach the last 16, holding a 3-0 lead from last week's first leg in Turkey.

"I'm just focusing on my football at the moment, performing and trying to give everything for Nottingham Forest. So that's all that's on my mind," said Anderson.

The 23-year-old is contracted to the City Ground until 2029 after joining from Newcastle in 2024.

The Manchester clubs are also reportedly monitoring Forest and England team-mate Morgan Gibbs-White.

Forest's captain almost joined Tottenham last summer, with Forest threatening legal action against Spurs, before signing a new deal until 2028.

BBC Sport has been told it does include a release clause, but boss Vitor Pereira believes the 26-year-old remains committed.

"I'm not hearing this. Every day is work. I feel they are very committed to our target, which is the most important thing," he said.

"He is a top player, the captain, the top player with the true spirit. That's why I accepted the job, because I have very good players.

"We need to prove every day in the work and we need to prove on the pitch, in the games, that we don't have just the talent in the team, but we create a strong team together."

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City are suddenly looking ominous, especially if you are an Arsenal fan. Erling Haaland looks back to his voracious best and the creatives behind him are slowly but surely going through the gears preparing for a sprint finish.

For all the huge amount of talent and money spent on the likes of Antoine Semenyo, Bernardo Silva, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders, it was homegrown Nico O'Reilly who stole the show and not just because of his two goals.

To have that level of power, pace, skill and game awareness at his age is very rare. What's more, that ability to play anywhere from left back to number 10 - and I suspect he would be perfectly good as a centre forward or centre-back too - is bordering on unique at the top level.

He has scored 11 goals in 60 appearances, perfectly good numbers for a wide attacker, but he didn't start all of those games and most of them were as a left full-back.

Given his height and incredible versatility, he is fast becoming impossible for England to ignore. Even though O'Reilly only has one cap and Thomas Tuchel is spoiled for choice in the attacking areas, here is an emerging talent who probably should be on that plane across the pond.

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