Visitors claim much-needed win on Guardiola’s 500th game in charge

by


Manchester City picked up a much-needed Premier League victory as they overcame a spirited Leicester side at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.

Savinho and Erling Haaland grabbed the goals for Pep Guardiola’s team but the Foxes caused City plenty of problems in a game that may well have had a different outcome were it not for some wayward finishing from the hosts.

The result moves City, who were looking to improve on a run of just one win from 13 games, up to fifth in the table.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side, meanwhile, remain in the bottom three.

How it unfolded

Guardiola’s side started on the front foot. Kevin De Bruyne blasted over before Jakub Stolarczyk saved well from a Haaland effort.

But once again City looked vulnerable on the transition. From a Leicester counter, the returning Jamie Vardy was bundled over by Stefan Ortega in the box, but the offside flag had already been raised.

Vardy again had a chance when he pounced on Josko Gvardiol’s loose header back but Ortega was equal to it.

Moments later, the visitors broke the deadlock when Savinho reacted quickest to Stolarczyk’s parry to grab his first league goal in a City shirt.

Leicester saw plenty of the ball after going behind but failed to carve out anything clear cut. Facundo Buonanotte was millimetres from connecting with a teasing cross from Bilal El Khannouss.

Haaland should have doubled City’s lead on 35-minutes when he wriggled between two Leicester players but sent his shot wide of the mark.

With the game beginning to open up, Buonanotte then hit the post from a header, however, City went into half-time a goal to the good.

After the break, Leicester looked like the team in ascendancy. El Khannouss curled a shot narrowly over the bar, while James Justin’s close-range effort was cleared off the line.

The noise inside the King Power Stadium was growing. And it would have likely erupted had Vardy done better with Stephy Mavididi’s pin-point cross just after the hour mark.

But City survived and, very much against the run of play, extended their lead when Haaland headed home from Savinho’s ball into the box.

The Norwegian’s smile has been notably absent in recent weeks but here the grin was back: one that encapsulated the feeling of all City fans at the final whistle.

On a day when Guardiola celebrated his 500th game in charge of City, the overriding feeling was one of relief.




Leave a Comment