Manchester City secured a dramatic 3-2 Premier League victory over Leeds, but the match was overshadowed by a controversial incident involving City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. City initially dominated the first half at the Etihad Stadium, with Phil Foden scoring just 59 seconds in, followed by Josko Gvardiol doubling the advantage. However, the momentum shifted significantly in the second half.

Leeds, invigorated by half-time substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin's goal, began to claw their way back. With the score at 2-1 to City, Donnarumma called for medical attention, prompting City manager Pep Guardiola to immediately gather his players for an impromptu team talk. This pause in play allowed Guardiola to adjust his team's strategy in response to Leeds' change of shape.

Leeds manager Daniel Farke suggested that Donnarumma's injury was a "fake injury"—a "smart" tactic employed by Guardiola to facilitate the team talk. While acknowledging that such actions are "within the rules," Farke expressed his personal disapproval, stating, "If we don't educate our players in football, what to do in terms of fair play, sportsmanship, if you just try to bend the rules to your advantage and you can do a fake injury in order to do an additional team talk, it is nothing I personally like but if it is within the rules I can't complain about it." He also noted that the fourth official confirmed their hands were tied regarding the incident.

Guardiola, however, maintained that he believed Donnarumma's injury was genuine, even instructing James Trafford to warm up as a precaution. Despite the team talk, Leeds managed to draw level after Gvardiol conceded a penalty, from which Lukas Nmecha scored the rebound after Donnarumma made the initial save. The match remained finely poised until Phil Foden struck again in stoppage time, securing the decisive winner for Manchester City.

Coming off back-to-back defeats against Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen, the victory was a significant relief for Guardiola, who remarked, "The game was not perfect in the first half but it should be over with the chances we had, we didn't concede and after that they damaged us with the system like Leverkusen has done with a 5-3-2." He praised his team's reaction after conceding the second goal and highlighted Foden's quality in decisive moments, emphasizing the emotional nature of football and the importance of putting the ball into the box quickly.