Ederson has broken Patrice Evra’s record as the fastest player to reach 150 wins in the Premier League after his role in Wednesday night’s victory over Leeds.
The Brazilian recorded his 150th win in just 197 games at Elland Road as City inflicted a 3-1 defeat against the Whites, smashing Evra’s tally (213) by 16 matches, with club-mates Kevin de Bruyne and Fernandinho on 215 and 216 respectively.
Rico Lewis kept hold of his place in the side after impressing against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup as Erling Haaland notched his 20th goal of the campaign in the well-earned triumph that saw them keep the gap to Arsenal to five points.
Since joining the Etihad in 2017, Ederson has been arguably the most consistent presence in Pep Guardiola’s side for the past five years.
He has kept 129 clean sheets in 261 games for City, with six of those coming in 15 Premier League matches already in 2022-23.
And as a result of the Leeds win he now has a staggering win rate of 76 per cent of all his outings in the English top-flight since his arrival from Benfica.
The 29-year-old has been a linchpin at the heart of Guardiola’s side since his debut in 2017-18, which was a clean sheet victory over Brighton, and he has not looked back since.
He replaced former Barcelona star Claudio Bravo as part of the Spanish manager’s high profile search for a successor to Joe Hart’s No 1 jersey and his adept ball-playing skills make him a perfect fit for City’s style of play.
City have only failed to win the Premier League once since signing Ederson – which is in no way coincidental given his talents – with the Brazilian lifting the trophy on four occasions, as well as four Carabao Cups, two Community Shields and an FA Cup.
And Wednesday evening’s success was an important one, with surprise leaders Arsenal having extended their lead to eight points with a 3-1 victory of their own against West Ham on Boxing Day.
But Haaland and Rodri ensured that the chasers would keep apace, despite a late goal from Whites star Pascal Struijk to set up a somewhat more tense finale than fans might have expected at times in the second half.
Guardiola had spoken about the importance of keeping in touch with Arsenal – with the sides set to meet on February 15 at the Emirates Stadium.
‘After our defeat against Brentford and with how strong Arsenal are, as well as the opponents who come from behind, we have to be alert and careful,’ he said prior to the action at Elland Road. ‘If the distance is bigger, it will be so difficult to catch them.’
SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk
