Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published on Sunday, 30 November 2025, 08:36 / Updated on Sunday, 30 November 2025 08:37
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke lost his temper in front of the cameras after the 2-3 draw with Manchester City.
Manchester City were 2-0 up after just 25 minutes thanks to goals from Phil Foden and Guardiol. But then he relaxed and Leeds restored the balance on the table, through the successes of Calvert-Lewin (49) and Nmecha (69).
Phil Foden admits: 'Pep Guardiola's speech inspired us'
The match seemed to “flow” towards a draw, but Foden did the “double” in overtime (90+1). And after the final whistle, he praised the speech that Pep Guardiola gave to the team in the 60th minute, taking advantage of the medical care that goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was receiving on the field: “Pep inspired us. It was one of the craziest games I've played in my career.”
But it is Donnarumma's injury that has bothered Leeds manager Danii Farke, who is fighting to save his job. After the final whistle, in front of the cameras, the German coach hinted that the Manchester City goalkeeper had faked the injury precisely to allow Guardiola to motivate his players.
Daniel Farke accuses: 'Everyone knows why Gianluigi Donnarumma let himself fall'
“Everybody knows why Donnarumma went down, right? That's the main issue. There's a reason,” commented Farke: “You can fake an injury for further discussion with the team. But if it's within the rules, it's smart.”
Pep Guardiola takes advantage of Donnarumma's injury to talk to his players / Photo: Imago
Allusion to the fact that, according to the rules, the injured goalkeeper is not obliged to leave the field, like the field players, and the match cannot be resumed until he returns between the sticks.
Daniel Farke: “The fourth official told me nothing could be done”
“But is it fair play? I have my doubts. If we're not educating our players what to do in terms of fair play and sportsmanship and we're just trying to break the rules to our advantage, that's not right as far as I'm concerned,” said the Leeds manager.
He claims that at that point he asked the fourth official: “Do you want to do something? He answered me “no, our hands are tied, we can't do anything”.
