Manchester City: Five memorable matches

Manchester City: Five memorable matches

Classic clashes against Saturday's opponents.

1st October, 1994- Leeds United 2-0 Manchester City

Noel Whelan was at the double when the two sides met at Elland Road in the 1994/95 season, a year in which the Whites would finish fifth in the Premier League table and Man City in 17th. In this hard-fought encounter, Gary Kelly’s excellent run from the half-way line saw the full-back square it for Whelan to fire Leeds in front. Whelan would go close again by having an effort cleared off the line, whilst Gary Speed’s deflected effort struck the crossbar. The crowd of 31,000 had to wait until stoppage time at the end of the match to see the points secured, when Whelan did get his second this time with a low left-footed finish into the far corner.

 

13th January, 2001- Manchester City 0-4 Leeds United

Leeds United ended a tough four month spell of not winning away from home in the Premier League, by dispatching of newly-promoted Manchester City in style. Eirik Bakke got the scoring underway by collecting a pass from Jason Wilcox, before finishing well on the edge of the box. Into the second half, Lee Bowyer pounced a loose ball in the box to strike left-footed into the bottom corner to double the lead. Robbie Keane’s left-footed dink over Nicky Weaver made it three and sent the travelling thousands into celebration at Maine Road. Keane made it four in front of the near 35,000 crowd by flicking into the back of the net at close range from a corner.

 

17th August, 2002- Leeds United 3-0 Manchester City

The season began in style for Leeds, with new manager Terry Venables getting three points on his debut in the dugout at Elland Road against Kevin Keegan’s Man City side. Just 15 minutes were on the clock when a wicked Lee Bowyer cross was turned home inside the box by Nicky Barmby. Right on half-time, prolific striker Mark Viduka found the back of the net, smashing beyond Carlo Nash. It took until the final 10 minutes for the third and final goal of the game, when Robbie Keane unleashed a delightful lob over City’s ‘keeper to secure the points in a battle between two former England bosses.

 Jon Howe 

22nd March, 2004- Leeds United 2-1 Manchester City

Eddie Gray’s side needed to win this encounter and despite being up against it for most of the match, they did come away with three points. Stephen McPhail’s free-kick wrong-footed England goalkeeper David James between City’s posts to put the Whites ahead. France international striker Nicolas Anelka levelled for the Sky Blues just before half-time, firing home past Paul Robinson. With just under 15 minutes left, Leeds regained the lead and subsequently won the match when Mark Viduka made no mistake from the penalty spot, after Alan Smith had been brought down by Daniel Van Buyten, who was dismissed for the foul. 

 

Jon Howe 

3rd October, 2020- Leeds United 1-1 Manchester City

A match full of attacking intent, with free-flowing and fast paced on football on show between two teams determined to take three points. When Raheem Sterling opened the scoring inside 20 minutes of the first half with a powerful low drive, many would have feared that City could have ran away with the match. Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United refused to let that happen and would continue to press for a way to level the scores. The goal did come, with Spanish international Rodrigo netting the equaliser at close range after hitting the bar moments earlier. The striker would go on to strike the woodwork again, as the scores somehow remained level.

 Jon Howe 

X