‘I think I took one touch, closed my eyes and hit it!’: Two-goal Leeds hero Stuart Dallas revels in thrilling last-gasp winner at Manchester City… claiming Marcelo Bielsa’s side proved they CAN defend well after criticism earlier in the season
- Stuart Dallas’ brace earned a surprise 2-1 win for Leeds at Manchester City
- The Northern Irishman struck late in both halves to secure the Whites’ victory
- Leeds played most of the game with 10 men after Liam Cooper’s straight red
- Dallas claimed he had his eyes closed when he struck the injury-time winner
Stuart Dallas admitted he could barely watch when he ran through to score Leeds‘ winning goal at Manchester City on Saturday.
The Northern Irishman scored twice at the Etihad Stadium to seal a surprise win for Marcelo Bielsa‘s side at the home of the league leaders – despite the visitors spending most of the game with a man disadvantage after Liam Cooper’s red card.
Pep Guardiola’s side were pushing for a winner after Ferran Torres had cancelled out Dallas’ first goal, but the midfielder burst through the midfield to slot past Ederson – with the 29-year-old joking that he had his eyes closed throughout.
Stuart Dallas claimed he had his eyes closed when he scored Leeds’ winner at Manchester City
The midfielder netted an injury-time winner in Saturday’s 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium
Dallas told BT Sport: ‘Against these teams you don’t get many chances so when you go through and have a chance you have to be clinical. Thankfully when I went through, I think took one touch and closed my eyes and hit it!
‘It’s a great result for us. That was tough out there today, it’s hard against this team – or any team – with 11 men never mind going down to ten.
‘We knew it would be difficult and we just knew if we had more composure on the ball we could maybe get make one chance.
‘I’m able to get on a through ball from Alioski and that part it’s about digging in. I saw it opening up and it went in.’
Dallas had given Leeds the lead late on in the first-half with a fierce strike from distance
Dallas gave Leeds a first-half lead just three minutes before half-time with their first shot of the game – picking up a Patrick Bamford pass to slam him from the edge of the box.
Bielsa’s side were set to go in with a half-time lead despite City’s dominance in possession and chances but the Whites were handed a setback when Cooper was sent off for a high tackle on Gabriel Jesus.
It meant Leeds spent most of the second period defending in their own half and only created two chances of note after the break.
Raphinha ran through only for Ederson to come out and deny him before Dallas’ late winner in injury-time after Torres had levelled the scoring.
Marcelo Bielsa’s quest for victory was damaged by Liam Cooper’s red card in the first-half
Ferran Torres (left) equalised for City but Dallas ended up finding a winner in injury time
But Dallas claimed Leeds proved a point in their defensive game this afternoon, insisting that the result proves Bielsa’s side can defend after criticism earlier in the season.
‘It was difficult, we had to dig in. I thought we defended really really well. We limited them to very few chances – long range shots obviously and a lot of possession.’
‘That was due to the red card. We came here with the game plan that we always go anywhere with but down to ten men it has to changes a little bit because we are so man to man.
Dallas (middle) claimed Leeds showed they can defend after criticism earlier in the season
‘It’s difficult but we dug in and showed a different side to us that we’re able to. That’s been criticised throughout the season and today we stood up.
‘You should never give up no matter what team you play with. Down to ten men they equalised and everyone thought we’d cave in. We managed to find something, it’s about how much you really want it.’
The result means Leeds are up to ninth in the Premier League table, while City’s lead at the top of the Premier League table can be pegged back to eight points should Manchester United win their two games in hand.