Leeds United host Manchester City on Saturday and will be hoping to avoid another heavy loss, after suffering their biggest ever Premier League defeat in a 7-0 clash last December.
The Citizens increased their lead atop the table after tearing apart the Whites at the Etihad Stadium. Marcelo Bielsa’s men simply had no answers for what Guardiola’s side tried, with Manchester City playing at their scintillating best and could have even scored some more.
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City’s attacks never stopped, as they sniffed blood after Phil Foden broke the deadlock in just the eighth minute. Jack Grealish doubled their lead five minutes later, before Kevin de Bruyne (two), Riyad Mahrez, John Stones and Nathan Ake added their names to the sheet.
Mahrez had barely let the second-half start before he fired a low shot past Illan Meslier in the 49th-minute. The winger’s strike had deflected in off Junior Firpo, before De Bruyne hit their best attempt with a fierce long drive into the top corner of an injury-hit Leeds’ net.
Manchester City 7-0 Leeds, Dec 2021
Leeds had never lost 7-0 or conceded seven in a Premier League game before travelling to the Etihad Stadium and facing Manchester City in December. They had, however, lost 8-1 at Stoke City in August 1934 during an old First Division encounter at the Victoria Ground.
West Ham and Arsenal have also been Leeds 7-0 in League Cup ties in 1966 and 1979. The Citizens joined the small club with their drubbing of the Whites last year, as Bielsa’s tactics left the visiting West Yorkshire outfit badly exposed eight months after winning there 2-1.
Liverpool 6-0 Leeds, Feb 2022
Bielsa’s tactics again hurt Leeds in February as Liverpool beat the Elland Road outfit 6-0. Jurgen Klopp’s side had a field day as the Argentine tried to play the Reds’ man-for-man, leaving vast spaces for the Merseyside natives to exploit and run up the scoreline.
Joel Matip perfectly summarised the Whites’ tactical shortages at Anfield when the centre-back scored Liverpool’s second. Six Leeds players tried to play touch-tight to a Liverpool shirt, inviting Matip to run before Pascal Struijk stepped up and left space in their defence.
Leeds have also lost 6-0 at Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester United before, but not in the Premier League. The Owls handed the Whites one of their heaviest defeats of all-time in the Championship in 2014, while the Red Devils ran riot in the old First Division in 1959.
Portsmouth 6-1 Leeds, Nov 2003
Two teams have beaten Leeds with a 6-1 scoreline in the Elland Road outfit’s history, with Portsmouth the only side to do so in the Premier League. Pompey delighted Fratton Park in 2003, while Watford had a positive visit to West Yorkshire in the Championship in 2012.
The south coast affair left Leeds rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table as Peter Reid’s side struggled. It would also stay the biggest home win for any team across the top-flight that term, as the Whites were relegated in 19th place with Wolves and Leicester City.
Arsenal 5-0 Leeds, April 2004 – Liverpool 5-0 Leeds, Jan 1996
Leeds have lost by a five goal margin without scoring in seven league games all told, with two during the Premier League era. Arsenal were the last side to put five past the Whites without conceding in 2004, following Liverpool eight years earlier, with both on the road.
Blackpool were the last team to beat Leeds 5-0 during a Championship affair in November 2011. The Seasiders relished their visit to Elland Road, where Arsenal won 5-0 in the First Division in 1980, while Liverpool, Fulham and Manchester United did so in ‘66, ’60 and ’57.
Manchester United 6-2 Leeds, Dec 2020 – Sheffield Wednesday 6-2 Leeds, Dec 1995
Leeds returned to the Premier League for the first time since 2004 for the 2020/21 season under Bielsa. The Whites proved a surprise package with their brand of attacking football pleasing on the eye and producing the results to finish the campaign ninth with 59 points.
But Manchester United gave Leeds one of their biggest defeats in the Premier League era at Old Trafford that December. A brace from Scott McTominay by the third-minute set up a 6-2 win, with Bruno Fernandes striking twice, alongside Victor Lindelof and Dan James.
Sheffield Wednesday have also beaten Leeds 6-2 in the Premier League era with a rout at Hillsborough in December 1995. Wolves, too, enjoyed a 6-2 win over the Whites in the old First Division in 1959, while Nottingham Forest also won 7-3 in the Championship in 2012.
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