Daniel Farke voiced his frustrations after Leeds were beaten 3-2 by Manchester City at Etihad on Saturday, arguing that Gianluigi Donnarumma appeared to use an injury stoppage as a tactical pause rather than out of necessity.
City led through Phil Foden after just 58 seconds, with Josko Gvardiol doubling the advantage before the break, but Leeds’ improvement in the second half shifted momentum in the match.
Leeds returned from the interval with a new setup. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored immediately, and with City uncomfortable against the reshuffle, Leeds pressed for an equaliser.
Just before Lukas Nmecha looked set to level from the penalty spot after a clumsy Gvardiol challenge, Donnarumma went down and received treatment.
During the two-minute pause, Pep Guardiola gathered his players for an impromptu touchline discussion.
Farke made his feelings clear afterwards, stating: “Everyone knows why he went down.
“It is not the elephant in the room. Why he went down it was obvious. It is within the rules. It is smart. If I like it? If it’s within the sense of fair play? If it should be like this I will keep to myself. It is up to the authorities to find a solution.
“I ask the fourth official at this point if you want to do something. Our hands are tied.
“If we don’t educate our players in football what to do in terms of fair play and sportsmanship and whatever and if we just try to bend the rules and even do a fake injury in order to do an additional team talk, it is not what I like personally. But if it is within the rules I can’t complain.”
Foden seals it
Despite the second-half fightback, Foden struck deep into stoppage time to take the match from Leeds, leaving Farke’s side stuck in the bottom three with only Wolves having scored fewer goals this season.
Criticism has followed the Leeds manager in recent weeks regarding caution and slow substitutions, though his aggressive changes at half-time nearly turned the match around.
Phil Foden reflected on how the stoppage helped City regroup, telling Match of the Day: “At half-time we were in control. Second half they came out, pressed us a lot higher, they put two up top and changed the formation a little bit.
“We really struggled to get hold of the game. We got together on the side of the pitch and changed a few things and it got better from there. That little break was crucial to get things right.
“The manager changed the way we pressed and the way we played. You can see from the moment we had the chat things got a lot better. It was crucial for helping us going on and winning the game.”
