For some of us Leeds fans travelling to Man City it was a short journey, but our long-distance fans saw some have a 5am start so after having a bad night, I was thankful it wasn’t me. Everyone seems to have written us off already today so it would be lovely to upset the apple cart and get something out of the game. If you can’t win, don’t get beaten and leave every bit of effort out on that pitch.

See the news section of my website for details of the Billy Bremner raffle which is now live. There is a link to donate directly too and for those unaware, we are raising money for a statue for Billy in his hometown of Raploch, Stirling. The Scottish side of our group will be raffling off some Scotland shirts later with Kenny Dalglish being the latest legend to sign yesterday. Thank you for your support 

At our pub stop in Bury, once again I started talking to some Man City fans who had been in there the last time we stopped. It was nice to have a chat about what we expected from the game today.

Team: Perri, Ampadu, Bogle, Justin, Rodon, Struijk, Tanaka, James, Gnonto, Calvert-Lewin, Nmecha.

Subs: Bijol for Gnonto (46), Calvert-Lewin for James (46), Gudmundsson for Justin (69), Okafor for Nmecha (82), Aaronson for Tanaka (90+2).

Subs not used: Meslier, Byram, Piroe, Harrison.

Leeds lost the game 3-2 with Calvert-Lewin (49) and Nmecha (68) scoring the Leeds goals.

Attendance: 55,097 with 3,065 Leeds fans.

Referee: Peter Bankes.

Booked: Rodon.

Well, my hopes of getting something out of the game lasted for one minute when Man City took the lead. I just found myself laughing at the hopelessness of it all. When they nearly got a second, we looked down and out. Perri made a great save but from their corner when he was under pressure, he missed his punch as the ball went into the net for City to double their lead. Perri did make another good save, but things were looking bleak as we went in for the break. 

The start of the second half saw changes made and we immediately went on the attack. Calvert-Lewin pulled one back when he kept running at them after receiving the ball from Tanaka. Things turned round quickly then when Calvert-Lewin was brought down in the area, and we were awarded a penalty. Nmecha stepped forward to take it but saw their keeper make the initial save but he was able to follow up from the rebound to equalise. The more pressure we were putting City under saw them wilting and I was shaking by that point as I was desperate for us to get something from the game. When Haaland had to resort to defending, I knew they were feeling the pressure. Just when it looked as if we could get a third goal with the pressure, they resorted to time wasting by their keeper pretending he was injured and went down. That gave the rest of the team a team talk at the side of the pitch with Guardiola. When 10 minutes was put up on the board for injury time none of us could believe it. Sadly, for us the same happened as at the start as City only needed a minute to regain the lead.

For me the spirited second half gave me that hope back, whereas I know many fans are saying it is papering over the cracks and still wanting Farke gone. The change of formation showed to me that we need to play to our strengths and that we can do it. Perri resorted to kicking long rather than playing out from the back which to be honest, doesn’t work for him. The key is not to be scared of any team and expect them to beat us but to battle. The vulnerability of City today was very obvious that they couldn’t cope with a direct attack and the more pressure they were put upon, showed that.

With two home games against Chelsea and Liverpool this week, let’s get Elland Road bouncing and our fans become the twelfth man. We all know that can make a difference! 

LUFC - Marching on Together!