Daniel Farke sends message to Arsenal and Chelsea after Man City beat Leeds

Daniel Farke says Arsenal and Chelsea will have to see off ‘one of the best teams in the world’ in Manchester City and ‘definitely the best manager in the world’ in Pep Guardiola to win the Premier League.

Man City survived a major scare to beat Farke’s Leeds United 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and climb to second in the Premier League.

Phil Foden scored the quickest goal of the Premier League season to put City ahead inside the first minute of the match.

A routine Manchester City win looked inevitable when Josko Gvardiol doubled the hosts’ lead midway through the first half.

But Leeds, destined for a relegation scrap following their promotion to the Championship, mounted an impressive comeback and drew level thanks to second-half goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha.

City were on course to drop points for the second week in a row following last week’s defeat to Newcastle United but Foden rifled home an injury-time winner to send Guardiola’s side up to second, two points above Chelsea.

Chelsea could of course reclaim that position and move to within three points of the Premier League summit on Sunday when they play their game in hand against early leaders Arsenal.

Manchester City won four successive league titles under Guardiola before only finishing third last season, three points behind Arsenal and 13 adrift of Liverpool.

Man City’s inconsistent form has continued this term but Farke has warned Arsenal and Chelsea that the Guardiola’s team remain ‘one of the best in the world’.

‘First of all congratulations to Pep and Man City,’ Farke said at his post-match press conference. ‘Today we played one of the best sides not just in the UK but in the world.

‘They have been the most successful team in the UK over the last decade and definitely have the best manager in the world.

‘Manchester City are a side full of superstars and full of class, and one moment of magic from Phil Foden with a great finish is the decisive moment for them.

‘Real heartbreak and unlucky for my players, but they should take lots of lots of pride and lots of confidence out of it, especially the second half performance.

‘We came here not for compliments or warm words, we came here for points. We had the worst possible start to this game.

‘Normally if you want points here you have to win the set-pieces. I have to give many compliments to my lads because we deserved something from the game.’

Manchester City hero Phil Foden admitted the club’s early title bid has not been ‘straightforward’ but hopes they can ‘kick on’ after the dramatic Leeds win.

‘It’s up there as one of the wildest games,’ Foden said. ‘We had full control in the first half. They changed their system in the second half and we couldn’t get going.

‘It was a frustrating half. But when there was a short break the manager got us together and we adapted to their formation.

‘We had a few half chances and finally I’ve found a bit of space and found the bottom of the net. There are still things we can improve. We’re delighted with the result.

‘The title race is never straightforward. There’s always ups and downs and periods where you can’t seem to get going and we’ve had that.

‘The belief and togetherness came through at the end. Hopefully that’s the case today that we can kick on from here. But you never know what to expect.’

Guardiola, meanwhile, admitted he would be an intrigued viewer when Arsenal travel to Chelsea on Sunday.

The Gunners, seeking their first league title since 2004, have only lost once this season – ironically to fallen Premier League champions Liverpool – conceding just six goals in 12 games.

‘I was relieved when he scored in the last minute and the other [thought is] that he is a big character,’ Guardiola said. ‘I was relieved, yes.

‘The game was not in the  perfect place in the first half, but it should be over for the chances we have and we didn’t concede.

‘To get the three points and after two defeats its massively important for our mood. It’s important to go second and we’ll see tomorrow what happens at Arsenal and Chelsea.

‘But it’s important to be as close to the top as possible and to try to the end.’

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