MANCHESTER City are four points clear at the top and in control of the Premier League title race, but their manager Pep Guardiola still wasn’t happy after his side’s 2-1 win over Leeds.
Goal machine Erling Haaland and match winner Ilkay Gundogan were the players who felt his wrath with Guardiola reminding them that “this is a business” after seeing a late penalty miss allow Sam Allardyce’s side back into the game.
Leading 2-0 with six minutes to go, City were cruising towards a 10th-successive victory and were handed a chance to wrap up the points when Phil Foden was fouled in the box.
Step forward the deadliest finisher in the land – their prolific 51-goal striker and regular at spot-kicks, Haaland… or so you would think.
Instead, Haaland handed the ball to Gundogan, who was on a hat-trick after scoring both of those earlier goals.
Gundogan hit the post, and 58 seconds later Leeds went up the other end to make it 2-1 – ensuring a nervy finish to a game that City had completely controlled.
The decision did not go down well with his manager, who made it clear to both players that he had wanted Haaland to take the penalty.
“First he [Guardiola] showed to Erling that he was quite mad about that and then also he had a go at me,” Gundogan explained. “It is what it is in the end.
“The moment Erling grabbed the ball, I was sure he was going to take it but he looked out for me. I checked with him a few times to make sure he was sure. He was certain to hand the ball to me. I was confident to score. I can’t even remember if the keeper saved it or it was the post?
