Man City move two points behind Arsenal after 1-0 win at Leeds

LEEDS, England, Feb 28 : Manchester City kept the pressure firmly on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a nervy 1-0 victory at Leeds United on Saturday, pulling within two points of top spot courtesy of Antoine Semenyo's strike on the stroke of halftime.

City, who were without league-leading scorer Erling Haaland, were made to work at Elland Road, but the victory took Pep Guardiola's side to 59 points. Arsenal, who have also played 28 games, host Chelsea on Sunday as the title race tightens. 

Leeds had the better first-half chances, including a couple of near-misses by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, before Semenyo scored his sixth goal for City in first-half injury time.

Rayan Ait-Nouri was sent through on the left side of the box and Semenyo slid to touch home his square ball from close range.

"It means everything," Semenyo told Sky Sports on cutting the gap to two points. "I think we just want to win all our games and whatever Arsenal do we just have to wait and see.

"We just need to control what we can control, win our games, and yeah, we'll see what happens. But we're all happy."

Second-placed City's win was their fifth in six league games, and eighth out of nine in all competitions.

Asked if City are hitting their stride towards a title run, Guardiola said: "One game at a time. Now we start a real season with many, many games. People are tired.

"You play teams who are down or playing for Europe. The Premier League is more competitive than ever.

"It is important that we qualify for the Champions League. We take a little gap from the other teams (below them). This step is massively important."

City are 11 points clear of fourth-placed Manchester United, who play on Sunday, and Liverpool in fifth spot.

Haaland missed the Leeds match