Man City beat Leeds to close gap on Arsenal with Semenyo winner
Antoine Semenyo scored the only goal as Manchester City beat Leeds United 1-0 at Elland Road to move within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The £62.5m January signing from Bournemouth settled a tense affair in the absence of injured top scorer Erling Haaland.
Pep Guardiola’s side have now won four league games in a row to pile the pressure on long-time leaders Arsenal.
The Gunners host Chelsea on Sunday knowing their advantage at the summit has been significantly reduced with 10 games remaining.
Semenyo steps up in Haaland’s absence
“It means everything,” said Semenyo. “We just want to win with our games on our side and, whatever Arsenal do, we just have to wait and see.”
“We just need to control what we can control, win our games, and we will see what happens.”
The 26-year-old has now netted six times in 11 appearances across all competitions this year.
His form is proving vital for the defending champions, who had faced accusations of being overly reliant on their Norwegian talisman earlier in the campaign.
In late November, Haaland had accounted for 58% of the team’s league goals and taken 30% of their shots.
Guardiola praises ‘decisive’ impact
The forward reacted quickest to a Rayan Ait-Nouri cross to silence a raucous crowd in West Yorkshire with a clinical finish.
Guardiola was subjected to insults from the home stands during the match but blew kisses to his family at the final whistle.
“The reaction was amazing – unbelievable with the goal we scored,” said the City boss.
“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.”
Sharing the goalscoring burden
Only Haaland and Brentford’s Igor Thiago have been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Semenyo’s total of 18.
Since his move to the Etihad Stadium, the former Bristol City man has contributed four league goals and one assist.
That recent record is bettered only by Chelsea duo Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro.
With Haaland still leading the Golden Boot race on 29 goals, the emergence of a secondary scoring threat significantly strengthens City’s title charge.