Leicester City 0 – 2 Manchester City
Post Match Analysis by Chris Griffin
In his post-match interview Ruud van Nistelrooy stressed the quality of Leicester’s performance despite the defeat. It was a fair point. Pep Guardiola spoke about being “relieved” to secure the win and acknowledged Leicester were the better team in the second half. The possession stats were revealing too with Leicester having 54% over the whole game. This was arguably City’s best display this season despite losing. The trouble is, as we all know, results matter. One fan in Raw Dykes Road summed the game up neatly when he said, “We weren’t rubbish, but we still lost.” Quite.
It seems that van Nistelrooy realises he has little flexibility in the squad. He recalled Vardy following an injury and reintroduced Buonanotte, much to the approval of many fans, to replace the suspended Ayew. Otherwise, no further changes.
Initially Manchester City monopolised the ball with their trademark pass and move. Stolarczyk saved well from Haaland. The visitors’ centre forward looked in good form. A bullocking run by the big striker ended with his shot just going outside the post. Then he headed goalwards, but Stolarczyk dealt well with the effort.
In the 21st minute Manchester City took the lead. Foden cut inside from the right and shot from about 25 yards. Stolarczyk got down well to save but his parry did not send the ball out of the danger area. An unmarked Savinho gathered the ball and had all the time in the world to drill his shot into the far corner of the goal.
While the visitors had the best of the opening half an hour Leicester had some threatening moments. Mavididi cut inside and was unlucky to see his right foot shot just miss the far corner of the net with Ortega beaten. Particularly noteworthy was swift and slick one touch forward passing between Winks, Buonanotte, Soumare and El Khannouss. This found gaps between Manchester City’s defensive lines. One such move saw Buonanotte release Vardy who was upended by goalkeeper Ortega in the area. It looked very bad news for the keeper and a nailed-on penalty, but Vardy was flagged marginally offside.
Falling behind did not discourage City. Vardy chased a ball in the inside right channel and Ortega had to be very smart to block the striker’s wide-angle effort. City kept pressing and Buonanotte’s header came back off the post with Ortega beaten all ends up.
The half time chat was less pessimistic than in recent weeks. The recall of Buonanotte had added zip and creativity to City’s play. But the player who had taken the eye was El Khannouss. He was quick and sharp, picking good passes and beating his markers. It has taken a few games for him to adjust to the hurly-burly and pace of the premier league but he seems to be finding his feet.
Leicester started the second half on the front foot, dominating the ball and looking threatening. Winks played Buonanotte into the area where he was floored by an Ake tackle. Fans’ hope for a penalty received little sympathy from referee Oliver. Another good City move forced a corner. The ball fell to Justin whose shot was goal bound until hacked off the line by Akanji. Manchester City’s defenders were beginning to look under pressure and several times they resorted to anywhere will do clearances – an indicator of how well Leicester were playing.
Unfortunately, despite some very good approach play, City’s final ball was letting them down. Crosses were under or overhit or pulled back behind attackers. Mavididi did put in a good cross for Vardy but the striker’s effort from in front of goal sailed over the bar. That could/should have been 1-1 but within minutes Manchester City doubled their lead. Savinho cut inside and crossed to the far post where Haaland easily outjumped Kristiansen to head into the net. Vestergaard and Coady had been drawn towards Savinho so leaving Kristiansen to battle an uneven contest.
Despite the disappointment fans maintained a very vocal support and the players kept running hard. Choudhury came on for Justin and provided a strong athletic presence both in defence and attack.
A Vardy header bounced off the angle between crossbar and upright but that was the last chance.
The fans gave the team a warm ovation at the end. It would be good to think that this might be a watershed performance, especially with the energy and creativity on view. As we start the second half of the season this level of performance needs to be repeated against relegation rivals and other lower half of the table sides. There are clear areas for improvement such as the quality of the final ball and communication when defending to make sure opponents are marked. Some strengthening of the squad in January would be welcome although the capacity for that is unclear. But if the players retain this level of performance the team has a chance of surviving.
Leicester City: Stolarczyk; Justin (Choudhury 70’); Vesteergard; Coady (Okoli 85’); Kristiansen; Winks (Daka 85’); Soumare; Buonanotte; El Khannouss; Mavididi (Alves 90’); Vardy.
Manchester City: Ortega; Lewis; Akanji; Ake (Walker 70’); Gvardiol; Kovacic; Savinho; de Bruyne; Foden (McAtee 64’); Silva; Haaland.
Referee: Mr M Oliver Attendance: 32,057