🔗 Share this article Man City Alleged of Gamesmanship in Tight Victory Against Leeds - Daniel Farke Leeds boss Daniel Farke felt Man City shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma feigned an injury in the second period of their top-flight clash Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has accused City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma of feigning injury to "exploit the regulations" in their top-flight match at Etihad Stadium Leeds made the worst possible start with Phil Foden scoring inside the first minute, before Josko Gvardiol doubled the home side's lead before the half-time break Second-Half Revival Denied However, the visitors rallied after the interval following a change of strategy and formation, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring straight away following the resumption Furthermore with Manchester City visibly having difficulty to deal with the adjustments just before Lukas Nmecha levelled, home goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma collapsed to get attention, enabling manager Pep Guardiola to summon his team to the touchline and deliver fresh instructions in the 120 seconds the game was stopped for "Everybody understands why he collapsed," Farke commented "This isn't the obvious issue. Why he fell it was clear. It is within the bounds of the rules. It is smart. If I approve? If it's in line with the sense of sportsmanship? If it ought to be like this I will keep to myself. It is for the authorities to determine a solution" Manager's Frustration "I ask the assistant referee at this point if you want to do something. Our hands are tied" "Unless we teach our footballers in football what to do in regards of sportsmanship and fair play and whatever and if we simply try to exploit regulations and actually do a fake injury in order to do an additional team talk, it is not what I approve of personally. But if it is within the regulations I can't complain" Stoppage-Time Deciding Goal Phil Foden's injury-time winner condemned Leeds to a sixth defeat in seven Premier League fixtures to leave them eighteenth in the Premier League, with only bottom club Wolves having notched fewer top-flight strikes this term Strategic Changes Nonetheless, Daniel Farke, who has been criticised for a absence of boldness especially around changes, was almost vindicated for a bold choice at the half-time that nearly turned around their fortunes Speaking to television pundits, Phil Foden, stated that his team were only able to regroup following Guardiola's touchline meeting with his squad "During the break we were in command. After halftime they emerged, harried us a lot more aggressively, they put two up top and changed the formation a little bit," commented Foden "We really had difficulty to gain control of the match. We got together on the side of the field and changed a couple of aspects and it got better from there. That little break was vital to get things right" Encouraging Aspects for Leeds The last occasion Leeds United suffered four successive Premier League matches was in 2022-23, when their campaign ended with relegation Nevertheless, while Farke stated that "their overriding emotion is disappointment", their second period display provided enough evidence to suggest they are able of halting their current run and moving up the standings "Displaying such a display should provide us plenty of belief. If we show such spirit and unity we have a excellent chance to win the results," Farke continued "We had the belief before the match, during the game and after the encounter. Otherwise you can't come back with a showing like that. We have strong unity and fighting spirit in the locker room" Expert Analysis Commenting on BBC Radio 5 Live, ex- Scottish club attacker Chris Sutton said: "Everybody expected it to be a comfortable win for Manchester City, but it has been far from comfortable in this second period" "Leeds can derive a lot from this performance with the manner they have performed in this second half" "Following that were Daniel Farke's adjustments, who is often criticised for not being as responsive as he ought to be. Dominic Calvert-Lewin came on and roughed up the Manchester City defenders" "It looked like it might be a massive turning point in Leeds' campaign, but Manchester City discovered a measure of brilliance. They got away with one this evening"