City is ahead, according to reports (5)
I believe the answer is:
leeds
'city' is the definition.
(Leeds is an example)
'is ahead according to reports' is the wordplay.
'is ahead' becomes 'leads'.
'according to reports' shows a homophone (sound like) (I've seen 'according to report' mean this).
'leads' is a homophone of 'LEEDS'.
(Other definitions for leeds that I've seen before include "W Yorkshire city" , "Industrial city of northern England" , "British city and premier division football club" , "English city" , "Yorks city" .)