Foden’s Last-Gasp Magic Rescues Man City in a Five-Goal Thriller
So let me walk you through what turned into one of the Premier League’s wildest afternoons, a match where Manchester City were pushed to the edge before Phil Foden, almost single-handedly, dragged them back. It was a 3–2 win over Leeds United at the Etihad, but that scoreline only tells half the story.
Right from the first minute, the tone was set. City scored after just 59 seconds—yes, not even a full minute had passed. Phil Foden drifted into the box, took his chance, and smashed home what became City’s fastest league goal at the Etihad since 2019. It felt like the perfect reaction after their recent stumbles, especially the loss to Bayer Leverkusen. And before Leeds could settle, Josko Gvardiol doubled the lead from a corner, giving City what looked like a comfortable 2–0 cushion. At that point, it almost seemed Leeds were headed for another long, punishing afternoon.
But football never sticks to the script.
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After halftime, Daniel Farke made bold changes—bringing on Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Jaka Bijol—and the entire tempo of the match flipped instantly. Calvert-Lewin caused havoc straight away. A loose pass from City put Leeds on the front foot, Gvardiol hesitated, and Calvert-Lewin slipped the ball into the net. Suddenly it was 2–1, and the Etihad, which had been relaxed up to that point, tightened noticeably.
And Leeds weren’t done. Calvert-Lewin struck again—this time by winning a penalty after being brought down in the box. Lukas Nmecha’s spot kick was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the rebound fell right back to him, and he tucked it away to equalise. City went from total control to total chaos in a matter of minutes, and Leeds were sensing something special.
Then came the tension. Donnarumma was booed by the away fans for stopping play with what they felt was a convenient injury timeout. Farke hinted afterwards that he didn’t like how the moment was used, but left it to “the authorities” to judge. Guardiola, meanwhile, insisted he had no part in the delay.
City pushed, Leeds resisted, and with ten minutes of added time announced, both sides knew one more moment might decide everything. And it did.
In the 91st minute, Rayan Cherki slipped the ball to Foden, who glided across the box, found just a sliver of space, and fired a low left-footed finish into the bottom corner. The stadium erupted. It was the kind of goal that makes a title race feel alive again.
Leeds fought until the final whistle, but City held firm. They remain second in the table, still chasing Arsenal, while Leeds leave Manchester with pride but no points. And Phil Foden? He walks away as the hero—a player who said he wanted to “prove to myself that I can still score goals,” and proved it twice in dramatic style.
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