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Leeds head coach Daniel Farke has accused Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma of simulating a knock to "bend the rules" in their Premier League fixture at the Etihad

Leeds got off to the poorest beginning with Phil Foden scoring within the opening 60 seconds, before Josko Gvardiol doubled the hosts' lead ahead of the interval

Second Period Comeback Denied

However, Leeds fought back after the interval after a adjustment of strategy and formation, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring immediately following the restart

Furthermore with City visibly having difficulty to cope with the adjustments just before Lukas Nmecha equalized, City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma went down to get treatment, enabling boss Pep Guardiola to call his players to the sideline and issue fresh instructions in the 120 seconds the game was halted for

"Everyone knows why he went down," Farke commented

"It is not the elephant in the room. Why he fell it was clear. It is within the rules. It is clever. If I like it? If it's within the spirit of sportsmanship? If it should be like this I will reserve to myself. It is up to the governing bodies to determine a solution"

Manager's Frustration

"I ask the fourth official at this moment if you wish to do something. Our hands are tied"

"Unless we teach our players in the game what to do in regards of sportsmanship and fair play and whatever and if we just attempt to exploit regulations and even do a fake injury in order to do an extra team talk, it is not what I approve of personally. But if it is allowed by the regulations I have no grounds for complaint"

Stoppage-Time Deciding Goal

Foden's injury-time decisive goal sent Leeds United to a sixth consecutive loss in seven top-flight fixtures to place them eighteenth in the division, with only last-placed Wolves having scored less Premier League strikes this season

Strategic Changes

Nonetheless, Farke, who has been criticised for a lack of boldness especially around changes, was almost rewarded for a courageous decision at the interval that almost reversed their fortunes

Talking to television pundits, Foden, stated that his team were only capable to reorganize after Pep Guardiola's sideline conference with his players

"During the break we were in command. Second half they came out, pressed us a lot higher, they put two in attack and changed the setup a bit," said Foden

"We genuinely struggled 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 brief pause was vital to get things right"

Positive Aspects for Leeds

The last time Leeds United lost four consecutive top-flight matches was in the 2022-23 season, when their campaign ended with demotion

However, while Daniel Farke stated that "our main emotion is disappointment", their second period performance provided enough evidence to suggest they are capable of arresting their current form and moving back up the standings

"Displaying such a performance should give us lots of confidence. If we demonstrate such spirit and unity we have a great opportunity to win the points," the manager continued

"We had the belief prior to the game, during the game and after the encounter. Or else you cannot come back with a performance like that. We have strong unity and fighting spirit in the dressing room"

Expert Analysis

Commenting on BBC Radio 5 Live, ex- Celtic forward Chris Sutton remarked: "Everyone expected it to be a comfortable victory for City, but it has been anything but easy in this second period"

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

"Then came Daniel Farke's changes, who is often questioned for not being as responsive as he ought to be. Dominic Calvert-Lewin came on and physically challenged the City centre-backs"

"It looked like it could be a massive turning point in Leeds' season, but Manchester City found a bit of quality. They escaped with one this afternoon"