Pep Guardiola says Rayan Cherki had his “best game” for Manchester City in Saturday’s win at Leeds United.

Man City closed the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to two pointswith a crucial 1-0 victory at Elland Road.

Antoine Semenyo scored a fine goal just before half-time after Leeds spurned several huge chances to take the lead.

Citylooked very open at times, but their class shone through, and it is now over to Arsenal, who host sixth-placed Chelsea on Sunday.

Guardiola told BBC Match of the Day: “We made a lot of passes that we needed to do to survive, without much intention to attack.

“The reaction was amazing, unbelievable with the goal we scored. A complete game in a tough, tough place, and 10 games left in the Premier League. Time to be decisive.

“Now we are building these players and they have a long, long time here. It is important for the future of the club.”

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The City manager was asked about his new signings after Cherki and Rayan Ait-Nouri combined to assist Semenyo’s winner, and he singled out the former as having his “best game” since joining the club last summer.

“Cherki, for me, is the best game,” Guardiola said. “Solidity and aggressive with the ball.

“All of them were really good — commitment, and they stuck with the gameplan. Now, in that part of the season — how is the mindset?

“After nine months, everyone knows what they want to do. Especially with the gap in the Champions League a bit bigger, that is so important for the club. [We are the] only English club that has been there every year for 10 or 11 years.”

City were without Erling Haalandagainst Leeds, though his absence was not as significant as some anticipated.

Surprisingly, City’s record without Haaland is very strong. Since he arrived in 2022, they have won 14 of their 18 games without him.

That amounts to just two losses, a 78 per cent win rate, and 2.4 points per game.

Guardiola is still desperate for Haaland to return and blamed fixture congestion for the Norwegian’s absence.

“We have three days [until Nottingham Forest],” the Spaniard said.

“And then after that in the FA Cup, thank you so much for letting us play at 8pm instead of 3pm, so we have less time to recover before playing Real Madrid.

“So again, thank you so much. This is what you have to live with, but you have to deal with that.”

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