Super sub Robbie Keane helped Leeds United cure their travel sickness at Maine Road with their first Premiership win on the road since August.

Keane, a 70th-minute substitute, scored two in the last two minutes to round off a remedy provided by Eirik Bakke and Lee Bowyer for David O'Leary's high-profile side, who had dipped alarmingly close to the drop zone which City are now in danger of making their permanent residence.

For Joe Royle's men, who now boast a sorry single league win from their last 13, it promises to be a winter of toil and trouble after another dismal performance for which the two late goals only provided the scoreline they deserved.

Norwegian Bakke had taken 31 minutes to hand Leeds the first-half advantage and it fittingly came from a City blunder in a period in which they failed to muster a single shot on target.

Andy Morrison fed his free-kick straight to Jason Wilcox, who strode forward and laid off the ball to the Bakke, who coolly drew keeper Nicky Weaver before placing the ball past him from 10 yards.

Bowyer blasted home a deflected second on 75 minutes to seal the win for his side and Keane's cameo role was merely the icing on the cake.

He got on the scoresheet with a beautiful left-foot lob after being put through by Bowyer - and with time up on the Maine Road clock Keane, unmarked at the far post, met Bowyer's corner and blasted his second from point-blank range into the net.

It capped an horrific collapse for City, who only had a short second-half breeze to show for their efforts in one of the worst performances of the season even by their own sorry standards.

Leeds were full value for their first-half lead, having seen Mark Viduka denied twice in as many minutes early on when his shooting chances were taken away by the alert Richard Dunne.

Luckless Viduka was also denied in a similar fashion by Richard Edghill but Leeds were in cruise control, and could have added to Bakke's opener four minutes from time when the same player lashed in a 25-yard effort which Nicky Weaver somehow saved with his legs.

The second half could hardly have been any worse for City but they responded well and enjoyed a 20-minute spell of some promise in which they were unfortunate not to level matters.

First the buzzing Danny Tiatto fed Paulo Wanchope and the big Costa Rican rocketed his left-foot shot from 10 yards against the side netting.

Alfie Haaland came even closer against his old club 10 minutes after the break when his fierce 25-yard shot was parried by Paul Robinson - the Leeds keeper's first save of the afternoon - and a stretching Wanchope narrowly failed to connect with the rebound.

And Tiatto could have scored a dream goal moments later when he beat Bowyer on the City left and cut inside before unleashing a rising right-foot shot which Robinson athletically turned around the post.

But Leeds recovered their killer instinct and, as City's burst subsided, they stepped up the pace.

Keane, a 70th-minute introduction from the bench due to his niggly knee injury, took just three minutes to nearly make a difference, pouncing on a half-chance in the box and firing a left-foot drive which Weaver brilliantly saved at point-blank range.

Then he found his scoring boots in dramatic fashion to exaggerate sorry City's afternoon of woe.

Teams:

Man City: Weaver, Edghill, Dunne, Morrison (Wright-Phillips 81), Howey, Granville (Grant 45), Tiatto, Whitley, Haaland, Goater (Dickov 70), Wanchope.

Subs Not Used: Nash, Prior.

Booked: Howey, Edghill, Morrison, Tiatto, Haaland.

Leeds: Robinson, Mills, Matteo, Ferdinand, Radebe, Dacourt, Bakke, Bowyer, Wilcox, Viduka, Smith (Keane 71).

Subs Not Used: Martyn, Harte, Woodgate, Batty.

Booked: Bakke, Dacourt, Mills.

Goals: Bakke 31, Bowyer 80, Keane 90, 90.

Att: 34,288

Ref: M Dean (The Wirral).