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Malaysian Paper SCAN ME Pep hails ‘huge victory’ Semenyo sinks Leeds as Man City close gap on Arsenal MONDAY | MAR 2, 2026

MANCHESTER CITY boss Pep Guardiola declared it “a huge victory” for his side after Antoine Semenyo’s solitary goal clinched them a hard-fought 1-0 win at Leeds. Semenyo struck his sixth goal in 11 appearances for City since joining from Bournemouth in January, clinically converting a rare chance for his side in first half stoppage time to lift them to within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal. Leeds, who remain six points above the relegation zone, were left to rue a string of missed early chances after a barnstorming start, while head coach Daniel Farke was sent off after the final whistle for remon strating on the pitch with referee Peter Bankes. Guardiola said: “They started really well. We expect it here at Elland Road. “Leeds are always so intense, and after that, we did what I think we have been good at for the last decade, together through a million passes – to make the vibe of the crowd a little bit more calm. “We let them run and run through our passes and when they became a bit more fatigued, OK, now we are going to pass the ball to try to score a goal and we found it in the first half. “We had incredible focus in all departments. We didn’t create much, but we didn’t concede anything. It was a little bit more and more uncomfortable (in the closing stages), but we defended really well. It’s a huge victory for us.” 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 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.” Play was temporarily halted by referee Bankes in the 11th minute to allow City’s Muslim players to break their Ramadan fast and the break was met by some boos from a section of home fans.

Guardiola added: “It is a modern world, right? (You see) what is happening in the world today. Respect religion, diversity, that is the point. “The Premier League says you can have one or two minutes, you can have for the (fasting) players to do it (break their fast). It is what it is, unfortunately. “We took on a little bit of vitamins because (Rayan) Cherki, (Rayan) Ait-Nouri did not eat today. No more than that. The question is, can they do it or not? What is the problem?” Anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out posted on X: “It’s massively disappointing that some Leeds United fans booed when Manchester City’s players broke their fast dur ing the first half of the match at Elland Road this evening. This was compounded by the fact that an explanation was displayed on a big screen inside the stadium. “As tonight’s reaction shows, football still has a long way to go in terms of education and acceptance.” Leeds suffered a rare defeat under the Elland Road floodlights – they had won five and drawn two of their previous seven night-time home kickoffs – and follow ing his dismissal, Farke was replaced by assistant Eddie Riemer at the post-match press conference. When asked about Farke’s red card, Riemer said the Leeds bench was dismayed that there was only six minutes of added time. “Probably the explanation is going to be he (Farke) was over emotional, how he’s gone on the pitch, I would suggest,” Riemer said. “He’s really disappointed to be sent off and would have wished for a more sensible action from the referee as well. Come on, give a yellow card. It’s an emotional game, and that’s it.” Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Brenden Aaronson both failed to convert big early chances for Leeds and Riemer added: “We’re really proud of the boys. “An unbelievable shift once again, unbe lievable performance. We created our chances, our moments, and we’re disappointed we didn’t score. “When you’re playing one of the best teams in the world, you need to convert one of these chances, but we also restricted them to very few chances, considering it’s Man City.” – The Independent/Agencies

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City’s Antoine Semenyo (top) celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Leeds, as manager Pep Guardiola celebrates after the match at Elland Road yesterday. – @ManCity/Instagram

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