Unseen Leeds United reunion captured on Man City tunnel cam as Kalvin Phillips bear hugs Whites chum

Manchester City star Kalvin Phillips spared a moment for a warm embrace with Leeds United captain and former teammate Liam Cooper before the two sides met at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola's have already been in action since, securing a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Spanish giants Real Madrid, but the club shared behind-the-scenes tunnel footage from the weekend's Premier League meeting prior to their midweek kick-off.

In the near 10-minute long clip, which can be watched on the Manchester City website, fans can see players arriving at the ground, greeting the mascot and heading onto the pitch at kick-off and after half-time.

Former Leeds man Phillips was an unused substitute in the fixture so doesn't appear frequently in the clip, but makes a short cameo in the tunnel where he chuckles walking down the steps before pausing to give Cooper a bear hug.

The pair, who spent eight years at Elland Road together, are all smiles as they prepare for the match which City would win 2-1 to worsen Leeds United's relegation scrap.

Phillips joined Manchester City from Leeds last summer and has had a stuttering start to life in the North West having made just 17 appearances in all competitions and not one start in the Premier League.

When the 27-year-old made the move last summer, Cooper shared his sadness at seeing Phillips leave and admitted he was still in his former club's WhatsApp group in August.

He told talkSPORT: “He is [still in the group]. I feel like Kalvin is family, it’s difficult to just bin him off in that way. If I do bin him off, I’m going to have to be a man and ring him and say ‘you’re going to have to go’.

“I’m going to speak to the senior players and see what the craic is. Kalv might do us a favour and just leave himself. He’s making me make a big decision… we’ll see.”