Leeds v Manchester City player ratings: Meslier 8, Rodrigo 4; Haaland 8, Grealish 7

Premier League champions win 3-1 at Elland Road to close gap on leaders Arsenal to five points

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  LEEDS UNITED RATINGS: Illan Meslier 8 – Made some crucial interceptions and read the game well despite conceding three from close range. AP

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  Rasmus Kristensen 5 – Never really looked comfortable against the movement of the City forward line, and he was dragged out of position too easily before being substituted after 67 minutes. Getty

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  Robin Koch 5 – An average display from the defender. Beaten to the ball by Grealish in the lead-up to Haaland’s second goal. Getty

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  Liam Cooper 5 – The captain looked completely unsettled, and a poor pass to Koch gave Grealish an open run into the penalty area to set up Haaland for a second. Reuters

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  Pascal Struijk 7 – Lost Foden and headed home from the corner to provide a consolation goal in the 73rd minute. Reuters

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  Sam Greenwood 7 – Had some nice touches and produced a superb delivery from the corner to assist Struijk’s header. Getty

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  Marc Roca 5 – Showed plenty of endeavour in the midfield but gave the ball away too often. AP

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  Adam Forshaw 6 – Looked good on the ball in his return to the starting eleven. Impact faded in the second half and he was substituted after 67 minutes. AP

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  Rodrigo Moreno 4 – Completely ineffective and had little impact on the game before he was replaced by Gelhardt after 72 minutes. Getty

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  Brenden Aaronson 6 – Exuded quality and confidence on the ball, but he was lacking the final precision in his delivery. Replaced for the final seven minutes. AFP

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  Wilfried Gnonto 7 – Showed glimpses of his pace and worked hard for the team throughout. Reuters

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  SUBS: Luke Ayling (Kristensen 65’) 5 – Brought on to shore up defence, and he was involved in plenty of the action after his introduction. PA

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  Mateusz Klich (Forshaw 66’) 4 – Little contribution apart from a card for fouling Grealish. AFP

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  Joe Gelhardt (Rodrigo 72’) 7 – A bright cameo. Had a chance to make it 3-2 after getting ahead of Akanji, but he poked it wide of Ederson’s goal. Reuters

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  Diego Llorente (Cooper 72’) 4 – Anonymous when introduced. Getty

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  Darko Gyabi (Aaronson 83’) – N/A. Getty

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  MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson 6 – A spectator for much of the game, but the Brazilian could not reach Struijk’s well-placed header. His distribution was good under pressure. Reuters

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  Rico Lewis 7 – Looked at ease in his Premier League debut with plenty of intricate touches to link play. Teed up Grealish in the first half. Booked in the second for a foul on Gnonto and was replaced by Cancelo after 68 minutes. EPA

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  John Stones 6 – Looked competent in defence. Reuters

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  Manuel Akanji 7 – An assured performance from the centre-back who made a few decent interventions. AP

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  Nathan Ake 6 – Solid display but did not look as comfortable as his defensive counterparts in possession under pressure. Reuters

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  Kevin de Bruyne 8 – Superbly orchestrated every City attack. Repeatedly split the Leeds defence in half. EPA

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  Rodri 8 – Combative off the ball, sweeping up in the middle of the park. The Spaniard opened the scoring from close range just before half time after following up on the rebound. He was carded in the second for bringing down Gnonto. PA

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  Ilkay Gundogan 7 – Looked dangerous with the ball and had a couple of chances to get on the scoresheet. AFP

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  Riyad Mahrez 6 – Not as much of an impact as he would have liked, but the Algerian got into plenty of promising positions. AFP

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  Erling Haaland 8 – Denied a hat-trick by Meslier, with a wasteful first-half display. But the Norwegian grabbed a brace with two clinical finishes in the second. AP

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  Jack Grealish 7 – Made up for a dismal first-half performance with two assists in the second. Should have scored after missing the target twice from close range. Reuters

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  SUBS: Joao Cancelo (Lewis 68’) 6 – Busy after his introduction without producing much threat. AP

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  Phil Foden (Grealish 73’) 4 – Anonymous when introduced and he lost Struijk from the corned as Leeds got one back. Reuters

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  Cole Palmer (Mahrez, 88) – N/A. PA

Erling Haaland continued his incredible season in front of goal with a double to help Manchester City cruise to a 3-1 victory at Leeds United on Wednesday, ensuring the champions closed the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to five points.

The visitors had a hosts of chances in the first half, with Haaland twice denied by fine saves from home goalkeeper Illan Meslier, while England forward Jack Grealish blazed two efforts over from good positions.

It appeared City would go into the interval frustrated, before Spanish midfielder Rodri finally made one count in first half stoppage time, firing home after another Meslier save.

Back in the city of his birth, where his father was a player for Leeds, Norway international Haaland effectively put the game to bed early in the second half with a simple finish, before taking his league tally to 20 for the season in the 64th minute.

Pascal Struijk gave home supporters faint hope of a comeback as he headed home with 17 minutes left, but it was always going to be a consolation against City in this mood.

The victory helped second-placed City move back to within five points Arsenal at the top of the standings, while Leeds stay 15th, two points clear of the relegation zone.

Abbie Ingham has provided the player ratings from Elland Road in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile device.