Gary Neville reacts to Pep Guardiola footage from Man City win vs Leeds that he has rarely seen before
Gary Neville has highlighted Pep Guardiola’s telling reaction after Manchester City’s crucial 1-0 victory against Leeds United.
The Whites delivered an impressive performance against the Premier League heavyweights at Elland Road on Saturday but were ultimately edged out.
Antoine Semenyo scored the only goal of the game after sliding in to meet Rayan Ait-Nouri’s cross, with Daniel Farke’s side punished for Dominic Calvert-Lewin‘s glaring miss.
City were certainly made to work hard for the three points, while Leeds were also denied a penalty shout with five minutes remaining after Matheus Nunes looked to have handled.
It is no wonder, then, that Guardiola was visibly relieved after the final whistle.
How did Pep Guardiola react after City’s win?
Indeed, Guardiola was seemingly seen gesturing toward Leeds supporters behind the dugouts at full-time, having been loudly taunted throughout the match.
Sky Sports pundit Neville admitted he had rarely seen the City boss react in that vein.
“That was an awkward one for City,” he said on the Gary Neville Podcast.
“There’s a clip of Pep Guardiola at the end of the game, where he’s got that little grin on his face. A little kiss to the fans, and he goes like that [fist pump].
“You don’t see too much emotion, but we have in the last couple of weeks. We’ve seen emotion from Erling Haaland and Pep Guardiola, where they know what’s happening here.
“They know they’re applying pressure to a team that haven’t got a great deal of experience in this race.”
The fact that Guardiola momentarily allowed his delight to burst to the surface showed just how much Leeds were able to push City, even if they were not able to find the equaliser.
- Read more: Paul Robinson rubs his eyes in disbelief at Leeds vs Man City moment – ‘I can’t believe it’
Leeds will regret missed opportunity
Elland Road rose to its feet after Calvert-Lewin latched onto Brenden Aaronson’s low cross four minutes in, but the striker could only divert wide from just eight yards out.
That set the tone for a frustrating day at the office for Leeds.
Aaronson was also guilty of touching off target from close range, while James Justin’s effort stung the palms of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
As seen in the Sofascore graphic above, nothing seemed to go right for consistent performers like Aaronson when it really mattered.
Then, with the clock ticking down to the 90-minute mark, substitute Jaka Bijol nodded wide, leaving Farke‘s charges empty-handed and regretting a big missed opportunity.
A result would have seen the Yorkshire outfit move further clear of the bottom three after West Ham were thumped by Liverpool, but they remain six points above the drop zone.
With huge top-flight showdowns against Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Brentford to come, their fate remains very much in their own hands.
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