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STUART DALLAS NETS BRACE AS 10-MAN LEEDS UTD SHOCK MAN CITY WITH 2-1 VICTORY

Stuart Dallas struck a last-gasp winner as 10-man Leeds stunned runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

The Northern Irishman raced onto a fine through ball from Ezgjan Alioski and flicked past Ederson for his second goal of the game in injury time.

City had been pressing for a winner having finally taken advantage of Liam Cooper’s sending-off to cancel out Dallas’ 42nd-minute opener through Ferran Torres 15 minutes from time.

Cooper was dismissed in the final minute of the first half for a poor challenge on Gabriel Jesus following a VAR review.

The result left City, who had dominated most of the game, still needing 11 points to secure their third title in the space of four seasons.

City, having made seven changes following their midweek Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund, were slow out of the blocks.

Leeds played some neat football and did get behind the hosts’ defence on a couple of occasions early on but failed to capitalise. Their best opening saw Tyler Roberts break into the box on the right but his ball across goal was too far behind Patrick Bamford.

City gradually began to increase the tempo and Ferran Torres had a good effort brilliantly blocked by Cooper at point-blank range following a corner. Jesus’ follow-up attempt was also blocked.

Raheem Sterling came more into the game but was denied a penalty after the ball jumped up and caught Luke Ayling on the arm following a jinking run.

Sterling then blasted over before spurning an even better opportunity, dragging a first-time shot horribly wide, after being teed up by a charging Fernandinho.

City were made to pay for that miss as Helder Costa broke down the left and passed inside to Bamford. Dallas then latched onto an inviting lay-off on the edge of the area, hitting a firm low shot that left Ederson rooted to the spot as it rebounded in off the base of the post.

It was a lead that came against the run of play and Leeds’ hopes of hanging onto it almost immediately suffered a blow as Cooper was dismissed for a bad challenge on Jesus.

Referee Andre Marriner initially showed a yellow card after Cooper caught the Brazilian on the knee in his follow-through but revised that to red after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor.

City chased the equaliser in the second half with Oleksandr Zinchenko forcing a good save from Illan Meslier and Bernardo Silva volleying wide from close range. Ilkay Gundogan fired over and Fernandinho had a powerful effort palmed over by Meslier, who also saved from Joao Cancelo.

The equaliser finally came 15 minutes from time as Silva flicked the ball into the path of Torres and the Spaniard clipped it past Meslier.

City continued to press but Leeds surprisingly had the final say as Dallas broke clear and slid a fine finish through the legs of Ederson. It was Leeds’ first victory against one of the established ‘big six’ since their promotion.

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KELVIN DE BRUYNE SIGNS MAN CITY CONTRACT EXTENSION TILL 2025

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2025.

The Belgium international, whose existing deal was due to expire in 2023, is 30 in June and now looks set to see out most of the remainder of his career at the Etihad Stadium.

De Bruyne has had a glittering spell since joining the club from Wolfsburg in 2015, winning seven major trophies, which could become 11 by the end of the season if City are successful in their hunt for the quadruple.

But, ominously for the rest of Europe, he reckons the best is yet to come for himself and Pep Guardiola’s team.

“I could not be happier. Since joining City in 2015, I have felt at home,” he said. “I love the fans, my family are settled here in Manchester and my own game has developed really well.

“This football club is geared for success. It offers me everything I need to maximise my performance, so signing this contract was a straightforward decision.

“I am playing the best football of my career and I honestly feel there is more to come.

“Pep and I see football in the same way. Having that relationship with a manager is so important to me because our objectives are totally aligned, and we want the same things.

“My focus now is on ensuring we have a successful end to the current campaign. Our results and performances so far have been excellent, but we need to make sure we end the season with the silverware we deserve.”

De Bruyne, who was named as the Professional Footballers’ Association’s player of the year in 2020, is having another impressive campaign, with seven goals and 16 assists, and director of football Txiki Begiristain knows they have one of the best footballers in the world.

Begiristain said: “This is a very significant moment for this football club. Kevin is, without question, one of the best players in world football.

“His performance level has been remarkably consistent since coming to City, and in the last few years he has developed into one of the game’s elite players.

“His talent is unquestionable – but he is also a consummate professional whose dedication to Manchester City during his time here has been nothing short of remarkable. He constantly seeks to improve, and his approach is the perfect blueprint for any young player looking to carve out a career.

“We are delighted he is our player and I look forward to watching him during his peak years here at Manchester City.”

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Defiant Borussia Dortmund warn Man City tie not over yet

Borussia Dortmund interim coach Edin Terzic has warned Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola that their Champions League quarter-final tie is far from over despite a 2-1 win for the hosts at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

Guardiola was complimentary about Dortmund’s performance after the game but Terzic, whose side had levelled the contest at 1-1 six minutes from the end before Phil Foden’s last-gasp winner, said his side were ready for another bite at the cherry.

“Pep had some nice words for me at full-time, but we’re not done yet. We’ll see each other again in eight days’ time,” said Terzic. “It’s halftime and the tie is still open.

“We’ll be ready to give it our all to overturn the result and reach the next round. We kept their chances to a minimum and posed a threat ourselves going forward. It was evenly matched so we’re disappointed with the result in the end,” he added.

Dortmund skipper Marco Reus was upset with the way his side had allowed City to take an advantage to Germany.

“We’re annoyed. Conceding a second right before the end was unnecessary. Two seconds of us switching off and they showed their quality. We have to stop the cross coming in. On the whole though, I think we produced a great performance,” he said.

Guardiola was clear his City side would not be trying to defend their one goal advantage next Wednesday.

“We are going to Dortmund to win the game. In the first half tonight, we were not clever with the ball. The second half was much better and we had two or three clear chances to score a second or third when it was 1-0,” he said.

“To play in the positions we want to, we have to have good build-up play. We have another chance next week.”

“Borussia Dortmund are a typical club from the Champions League. They have played in this competition for many years and know what to do. We are going there to score,” he added.

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GABRIEL JESUS ON TARGET AS LEADERS MANCHESTER CITY EASE PAST LEICESTER WITH 2-0 VICTORY

Birthday boy Gabriel Jesus continued in-form Manchester City’s march to the Premier League title after a classy victory at Leicester.

The striker, who turned 24 on Saturday, wrapped up a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium as Pep Guardiola’s men made it 15 straight away wins in all competitions.

Benjamin Mendy’s second-half opener sent them on their way and City are 17 points clear at the top with seven games left after a 26th win in their last 27 games.

Fernandinho had a goal ruled out while Kevin De Bruyne’s free-kick hit the crossbar.

Jamie Vardy also had a goal disallowed for offside but the third-placed Foxes missed the chance to climb above Manchester United into second after being outclassed.

They thumped City 5-2 at the Etihad in September but there was to be no repeat this time.

The leaders dominated the ball early and thought they had a breakthrough after five minutes.

Fernandinho cracked a first-time half volley into the bottom corner from 30 yards only for it to be disallowed because Sergio Aguero was offside and in Kasper Schmeichel’s eyeline.

The visitors pinned the Foxes in their own half and, while Leicester still looked to pass their way out of any trouble, they never had the ball long enough to make a dent going forward.

Aguero volleyed over after Timothy Castagne’s clearance was charged down but the Foxes had kept any City chances to a minimum.

De Bruyne, though, came close to an opener after 23 minutes. The midfielder was fortunate to earn a free-kick after minimal contact from Wilfred Ndidi and stepped up to smash the bar from 25 yards.

The warning signs were there but Leicester’s concentration levels in the face of City pressure were excellent.

A goal would have capped a first-half masterclass from Guardiola’s side but Schmeichel denied Riyad Mahrez with his legs four minutes before the break and De Bruyne curled wide seconds later.

Jesus also fired over but City escaped in first-half stoppage time.

Ndidi beat De Bruyne to the ball and Ayoze Perez fed Vardy to round Ederson and score, although his celebrations were cut short by an offside flag.

It at least gave the Foxes encouragement and they began the second half with more intent, Youri Tielemans shooting at Ederson before Ruben Dias blocked Vardy’s drive.

But City got the opener their display deserved after 58 minutes from an unlikely source.

Schmeichel parried Mahrez’s effort and City regained control of the ball to cross for Jesus, who could not get a shot away. It fell for Mendy and he cut inside Marc Albrighton to curl in just his second Premier League goal from 10 yards.

Leicester had no response and Jesus grabbed a second with 16 minutes left.

De Bruyne’s sumptuous throughball sent the striker clear and he passed to Raheem Sterling, who held the ball up and squared for Jesus to stab in his fifth goal in six top-flight games against the Foxes.

Former Leicester winger Mahrez should have made it 3-0 soon after but curled wide, while James Maddison shot at Ederson as the Foxes chased a late consolation.

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AGUERO IS IRREPLACEABLE – GUARDIOLA

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists Sergio Aguero is “irreplaceable” and “helped to put the club in a higher level”, as the striker prepares to leave the Etihad Stadium at the end of the season.

City’s all-time record goalscorer will leave when his contract expires this summer and Guardiola has paid a glowing tribute to the 32-year-old, who has won four Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and five League Cups during his decade-long stay.

Guardiola believes Aguero was one of the players who established the club as a force in the Premier League and has backed him to score some important goals in what remains of this season, with City chasing an unprecedented quadruple.

“Sergio is irreplaceable,” the City boss told Sky Sports. “I could say in terms of numbers he can be replaceable, it’s not easy when you see more than 360 games played and more than 250 goals, the amount of titles…

“So it’s the legend, the best striker this club has ever had for this century through the years, but is irreplaceable in the souls, in the hearts, in the minds of our fans, of our people, of the players that played alongside him and all the managers who worked with him.

“We were so lucky, the guys who came after him – me as a manager for example. We took over the club and he was one of the guys like Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, David Silva, many players helped this club make a step forward and of course he was one of them.

“He helped us find a club organisation in a higher level. When he came here the club was in one level, and he helped to put the club in a higher level. And that’s why all the people are still here, and of course the fans always will be grateful.

“Without them, what we achieved in the past four or five years would not be possible, that’s for sure.

“I think he still has interesting goals to score this season.”

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MANCITY CLUB LEGEND, SERGIO AGUERO TO LEAVE CLUB IN SUMMER

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will leave the club this summer when his contract expires, the Premier League outfit have confirmed.

The Argentina international is City’s record goal-scorer having amassed 257 goals in 384 appearances since arriving from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2011 and is the highest-scoring overseas player in Premier League history.

Aguero, who turns 33 in June, is most famous for his added-time goal in the final league match of the 2011-12 season against QPR which secured the club’s first Premier League title.

“Sergio’s contribution to Manchester City over the last 10 years cannot be overstated,” said City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

“His legend will be indelibly etched into the memories of everyone who loves the club and maybe even in those who simply love football.

“This is not yet the moment for farewell words and speeches. There is still much to achieve in the remainder of the time we have with Sergio, and we look forward to his contributions to the challenges which lay ahead.

“In the meantime, it gives me great pleasure to announce that we will be commissioning an artist to create a statue of Sergio to live at the Etihad Stadium alongside the ones under construction for Vincent (Kompany) and David (Silva).

“And we look forward to the opportunity to bid Sergio a fitting farewell at the end of the season.”

City are working on plans to mark his departure on the final home game of the season against Everton and they are hopeful thousands of supporters will be permitted to attend Etihad Stadium when lockdown measures are eased further.

In addition to becoming the club’s record goal-scorer – which he achieved by overtaking Eric Brook’s 78-year record with a goal in the 4-2 win at Napoli in 2017 – he also has a Premier League high 12 hat-tricks which he achieved with a treble against Aston Villa in January 2020 to surpass Alan Shearer’s landmark.

Aguero has won four Premier League titles – with a fifth looking likely in his final season. He could also still add to his tally of one FA Cup and five League Cups before his departure.

“When a cycle comes to an end, many sensations arise,” Aguero, who has struggled with injuries and Covid-19 this season, wrote on Twitter.

“A huge sense of satisfaction and pride remains in me for having played with Manchester City for a whole 10 seasons – unusual for a professional player in this day and age.

“Ten seasons with major achievement, throughout which I was able to become the top historic goalscorer and forging an indestructible bond with all those who love this club – people who will always be in my heart.”

He added: “I was to join during the reconstruction era of 2011, and with the guidance of the owners and the contribution of many players, we earned a place among the greatest in the world.

“The task to maintain this well-deserved privileged position will remain on others.

“As for myself, I will continue to give it my utmost for the rest of the season to win more titles and bring more joy to the fans.

“Then, a new stage with new challenges will begin and I am fully ready to face them with the same passion and professionalism that I have always dedicated to continue competing at the highest level.”

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MAN CITY TO FACE CHELSEA IN FA CUP SEMIS, LEICESTER DRAW SOUTHAMPTON

Manchester City have been drawn to face Chelsea while Leicester or Manchester United will take on Southampton in next month’s FA Cup semi-finals.

Pep Guardiola’s side maintained their bid for an unprecedented quadruple as they won 2-0 at Everton to reach this stage of the competition for a third successive season, while Chelsea beat Sheffield United by the same scoreline.

Southampton, meanwhile, eased to a 3-0 victory over neighbours Bournemouth to book their spot at Wembley and their reward is a fixture against Leicester City who defgeated Ole Gunner Solksjaer’s Manchester United by 3 goals to 1.

The draw was made at half-time in the game at the King Power Stadium, with the sides level at 1-1.

The all Premier League semi-finals will take place at Wembley on the weekend of April 17th and 18th.

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FA CUP: CITY STRIKE LATE TO BEAT EVERTON TO THE SEMI FINAL TICKET, KEEP QUADRUPLE HOPE ALIVE

Late goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne carried Pep Guardiola and Manchester City through to the FA Cup semi-finals and kept alive their dreams of an unprecedented quadruple.

But it was a close-fought thing against a stubborn Everton side that only finally succumbed in the 84th minute to Gundogan’s 16th goal of the season.

With City pressing for the winner, a powerful shot by defender Aymeric Laporte was saved well by Everton’s stand-in keeper Joao Virginia who tipped the effort against the cross-bar.

The ball dropped kindly for the on-rushing Gundogan who stooped to head the ball over the line and clinch a 15th win – to go with a Champions League draw against Porto – in 16 cup ties for City this season.

For good measure, City sub Kevin De Bruyne struck in the 90th minute Wirth a clinical finish after racing clear onto a pass from fellow replacement Rodri.

Everton claimed Yerry Mina had been fouled by Riyad Mahrez in the build-up to that goal although, by that stage, such complaints were academic.

City dominated first half possession but Carlo Ancelotti had pieced together a masterful game-plan that stifled their normally free-flowing football.

In fact, the best chance of the opening period fell to the hosts from Lucas Digne’s 43rd minute corner which Mina flicked on brilliantly at the near-post, forcing Oleksandr Zinchenko into a head goalline clearance.

Earlier, City keeper Zack Steffen had also enjoyed a slice of luck when he raced to deal with Gylfi Sigurdsson’s through ball, kicked it against Dominic Calvert-Lewin and needed team mate Laporte to mop up the danger.

But City were frequently frustrated by an Everton defence that set about the task of protecting third-choice keeper Virginia in their goal.

The visitors were largely limited to efforts from distance, with a 25-yard hit from Raheem Sterling straight at the keeper their only on-target effort over the first 45 minutes.

City looked more energised after the restart, although a Richarlison half-volley flew just wide from Everton’s first attack.

And Everton’s 21-year-old Portuguese keeper was soon called into action, diving sharply to turn Sterling’s 12-yard shot around his post after he connected with a Fernandinho cross.

The influential Foden also connected menacingly with another long shot which flew just wide of the Everton goal as the Premier League leaders appeared to be edging closer a breakthrough.

The sight of Riyad Mahrez and De Bruyne coming off the City bench as substitutes was hardly ideal for the home side and, as the tie entered the last 10 minutes of normal time, Foden tested Virginia with yet another long-range attempt that forced a routine stop before the killer goal.

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UCL 2021 QUARTER FINAL DRAW: LIVERPOOL DRAW REAL MADRID, BAYERN FACE PSG

UEFA held the draw for the 2020-21 Champions League quarterfinals Friday, with defending champion Bayern Munich receiving a matchup with last year’s fellow finalist Paris Saint-Germain.
Here’s a look at the full results from the draw:

Quarterfinal 1: Manchester City vs. Borussia Dortmund
Quarterfinal 2: Porto vs. Chelsea
Quarterfinal 3: Bayern Munich vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Quarterfinal 4: Real Madrid vs. Liverpool

And here’s the semifinal bracket order:

Winner of Quarterfinal 3 vs. Winner of Quarterfinal 1
Winner of Quarterfinal 4 vs. Winner of Quarterfinal 2
The quarterfinal matches will take place April 6-7 and April 13-14. The complete fixture schedule will be released later Friday.

A two-leg rematch of last season’s final between Bayern and PSG should be a treat for football fans with both clubs coming off dominant performances in the round of 16.

The German side cruised to a 6-2 aggregate triumph over Lazio, while the French team eased past Barcelona 5-2 on aggregate on the strength of a 4-1 win in the first leg.

Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski explained coming into the campaign the club faced a lot of pressure to live up to the high standard it set by winning the treble last term.

“If you play so good in the last season, then everyone is looking at you now and how you will be in the new season,” Lewandowski told reporters in September. “And if you are on the top you have to work harder to stay longer on the top. And I think so for us that is the big challenge for this season.”

So far the Bavarians have lived up to those expectations as they sit atop the Bundesliga table with 58 points, four points clear of second-place RB Leipzig, while also having captured the DFL-Supercup in September and staying alive to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

The matchup with Paris Saint-Germain represents their toughest test to date, though.

While the winner of the Bayern-PSG quarterfinal may be viewed as the tournament favorite heading toward the semifinals, this is a deep field littered with legitimate title contenders.

Six of the eight clubs have clear title hopes and even the two longer shots, Dortmund and Porto, have enough attacking firepower to make a run to the final.

It sets the stage for an entertaining, highly competitive finish to this year’s Champions League over the next two months.

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MAN CITY JUMP INTO UCL LAST EIGHT AFTER SEEING OFF BORRUSIA MONCHENGLADBACH

Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan struck early as Manchester City eased into the Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of Borussia Monchengladbach on Tuesday.

The pair netted in the opening 18 minutes of the second leg of the last-16 tie in Budapest, securing a 2-0 victory and wrapping up a comfortable 4-0 aggregate success for Pep Guardiola’s quadruple-chasing side.

De Bruyne set City on their way at the Puskas Arena with a stunning long-range strike after 12 minutes before Gundogan tucked away his 15th goal of the season after a fine run by Phil Foden.

The result kept City’s bid for four trophies firmly on track, although tougher tests will lie ahead in Europe as they return to the quarter-final stage that has proved their undoing in the past three seasons.

The Premier League leaders were dominant in the first leg at the same venue and it was clear from early on a similar story would play out second time around. The Bundesliga side had lost their previous six games – all since it was announced coach Marco Rose would be leaving for rivals Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season – and they never looked like reversing that trend.

Guardiola switched tactics from the weekend win at Fulham, dropping strikers Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero to the bench and reverting to a false nine. De Bruyne chiefly played that central role, although he interchanged with others, and the plan worked superbly.

City controlled the game in almost all aspects from the outset and had their first serious chance after seven minutes when Joao Cancelo clipped a clever ball into the box for Foden.

On this occasion the England youngster was unable to make clean contact with his volley and Yann Sommer pushed away, but the Swiss keeper could do little about De Bruyne’s ferocious strike six minutes later.

The Belgian fired into the roof of the net with his weaker left foot after collecting a pass from Riyad Mahrez 20 yards out.

Gundogan doubled the lead six minutes later after a brilliant run by Foden, who turned inside his own half and broke away to play in the German with a no-look pass. Gundogan made no mistake as he bore down on Sommer, placing the ball into the bottom corner before hurdling the keeper.

To their credit, despite being outclassed, Monchengladbach tried to play positively. Lars Stindl and Marcus Thuram both managed to force saves from Ederson while Breel Embolo shot across the face of goal after a good move.

But City threatened more, with Mahrez picking out Gundogan in the area only for Sommer to clear and De Bruyne testing the keeper from a free-kick. Mahrez shot narrowly wide early in the second half.

Mahrez twice threatened again but was denied both times by Sommer and Foden had an effort blocked.

City got some minutes out of Aguero and Raheem Sterling in the closing stages and Mahrez had further opportunities when he shot over and then wide late on.