Manchester City were forced to settle for a pulsating 1-1 draw against Leeds as Rodrigo punished Ederson’s mistake, while Chelsea’s big spending began to bear fruit as they thrashed Crystal Palace 4-0 on Saturday.
While Chelsea clicked into gear and City struggled to find their rhythm, James Rodriguez guided Everton to the top of the Premier League by scoring twice in a 4-2 win over Brighton.
City were humiliated last weekend when Leicester won 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium and Pep Guardiola responded by splashing out on Benfica defender Ruben Dias.
Dias made his debut at Elland Road and the Portugal centre-back had his work cut out for him in an entertaining game packed with chances at both ends.
Raheem Sterling fired City into a deserved 16th-minute lead, cutting inside on the left edge of the penalty area driving his low shot inside the far post.
But City’s failure to turn their early dominance into more goals proved costly as Rodrigo pounced on a mistake by Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson to turn the ball home from close range in the 59th minute.
“That was good, huh? When both teams want to attack, it’s a good game. We made an incredible first 30 minutes,” Guardiola said of the showdown with his managerial mentor Marcelo Bielsa.
“My team, for the position we’re in, showed incredible behaviour. It’s not easy to play against Leeds. They’ve showed how good they are.
“We had the chances to kill the game. In the second half it was more equal.”
City have won just one of their first three league games and still look short of the standard required to overhaul champions Liverpool.
For promoted Leeds, this buccaneering performance was further proof that Bielsa’s commitment to attacking play can flourish in the top-flight.
