Wilfried Gnonto’s victory was the difference between the sides at Ashton Gate, but the contrast in quality on the night was considerably greater than a single goal.
Liam Manning acknowledged that for the first time as Bristol City‘s head coach, he and his players were upset with their performance after being decisively beaten by a Leeds United side he described as the greatest they had played thus far.
The 1-0 scoreline did not represent the visitors’ domination at Ashton Gate, as Wilfried Gnonto won the game in the 47th minute amidst an avalanche of chances for Daniel Farke’s team.
The Leeds United boss lamented his team’s lack of efficiency in front of goal, which was partly due to the performance of City goalkeeper Max O’Leary, who made many superb saves to keep the Robins in a game they hardly deserved to be in.
Anis Mehmeti was then denied by Illan Meslier after being put through by Tommy Conway, but it would have been difficult for Leeds, whose mobility, offensive instincts, and creativity, allied with defensive strength, were simply too much for City.
“Two things, one, I have to give Leeds a huge amount of credit, for their level – they’re the best we’ve played, comfortably, so far; collectively and with some of the individuals they’ve got, so I don’t want to take anything away from them,” Manning said in a statement.
“But then what you want to do is find out your level, and to be honest, forget about results; our performance levels have been consistently high for quite some time. Tonight was the first occasion I felt we weren’t performing at the level we know we are capable of, which is disheartening because you want to see how you compare to teams like them.
“The lads are obviously quite disappointed, but in terms of the fundamentals, duels, second balls, possession, and missing opportunities, which, hey, when you play Leeds, you have to be at that level.
“I honestly thought the first 5-10 minutes were fine; we started the game well, but they press with pace, they’re well-organized, and they close spaces extremely well, and what happened for me was that when the errors occurred, the emotions heightened and you could feel the strain a little. What you must then do is avoid making another mistake, reclaim your credit, and stick together.
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