Manchester City 0-4 Leeds United

	Leeds' Bakke slides in to put his side in front at Maine Road (Gary M. Prior/Allsport)

It was surely fanciful of David O'Leary to talk about Leeds United as candidates for relegation - even on the back of a minor slump.

But that is the problem Joe Royle must now confront with Manchester City.

Maybe it was the Leeds manager's natural Celtic concern which prompted him to gee up a side certainly under-achieving after last season's triumphal march in the Premiership.

But they answered so many of the questions he posed, leaving Maine Road shrouded in gloom and City braced for another series of dogfights from which they need points if they are to have any chance of survival in the top flight.

O'Leary was gracious enough to concede that the scoreline flattered Leeds. The brilliance of goalkeeper Paul Robinson kept the Yorkshire side in front at a time when they were searching for a second goal to add to Eirik Bakke's opener.

Robinson has won all sorts of praise for his performances this season, so audacious, so dazzling that they have already propelled him to the front of new England coach Sven Goran Eriksson's World Cup plans.

Here, he produced two saves which stopped seemingly certain goals early in the second half, the first when he blocked a shot from former Leeds midfielder Alfie Haaland in the 56th minute. Not only was it important, it was perhaps the match's defining moment.

Yet, his save in the 67th minute from Danny Tiatto was world-class. Tiatto lifted City hearts when he burst through on a bewildering run which he finished off with a fierce shot. The celebrations choked in City fans' throats when Robinson dived to his right and turned the ball away for a corner.

From then on it was a rout for Leeds and another embarrassing afternoon for a City side which proved the point that when you're down, you don't get an even break.

O'Leary, clearly relieved at this victory, said: 'Before the match I said the position we found ourselves in was disgraceful.

'The thing is that we were praised for so long, but now a few critics have got on their backs this season. I'm afraid that's something they will have to live with.

'This has been an unenjoyable season for a coach - that's the way I've found it. We've never been able to put together the sides I would have wanted to play because of injury.

'The confidence is there though. I know we are putting an excellent product together. After this match, after this win, we must follow it up with another three points at home to Newcastle.

'We are so talented and, when we do get going, we'll not be a bad little team - even if we have to swallow our medicine this season.'

Rio Ferdinand played as you would expect of an £18million buy - well, almost - and Robbie Keane came off the bench in the second half to score two goals in the closing seconds to show what a superb addition he is going to be to O'Leary's squad.

It was Lee Bowyer who scored Leeds' second goal with a low shot in the 80th minute.

As Leeds' jauntiness soared and City's confidence plummeted, Keane hit number three as normal time elapsed and still found time to finish a satisfying afternoon with number four on the whistle.

Royle had seen defender Andy Morrison gift Leeds their opener and things did not improve, despite a gutsy spell from City. Had they scored before Bowyer struck to put the visitors out of reach, there might conceivably have been a far different outcome.

Royle said: 'We're leaking like a colander. Their keeper did make excellent saves, particularly the one from Tiatto.

'All we can do is take heart from the other results and the fact that I thought we gave it a go after one of the most uneventful opening halves you could possibly see.