Man City 3 Leicester City 1
Report by Colin Hall
Leicester City’s unbeaten run came to an end in emphatic fashion at the Etihad Stadium, as hosts Manchester City inflicted a 3-1 defeat which narrowed the gap between the sides to a single point.
The encounter was a reminder to club and fans alike that, for all the quality football we have witnessed in recent months, Brendan Rodgers’s side remains some way short of the finished product. Indeed, Rodgers himself was honest enough to admit as much in post-match interviews.
The Foxes boss had named an attack-minded starting line-up, with places for both Ayoze Perez and Harvey Barnes, in an effort to take the game to the home side.
However opposing manager Pep Guardiola had made a statement of intent with his own selection, who forced the visitors onto the back foot during the early stages.
Ominously, Riyad Mahrez, starting against his former colleagues for the first time at this venue, looked particularly keen to play a prominent role in proceedings
He came close on two occasions to giving his team the lead, before setting up team-mate De Bruyne for a fierce drive which struck the outside of a post.
With Kasper Schmeichel also forced into making two saves to deny Jesus, the Foxes were certainly under the cosh at the stage.
But the visitors stunned the home crowd by taking the lead with their first shot on goal.
A move down the left-side involving Ben Chilwell and Barnes sent Jamie Vardy clear on goal. The striker duly found the net with a composed finish for his 17th league goal of the season, and his 29th of 2019. Only Lionel Messi has been more prolific in major European leagues during the calendar year.
The hosts stepped up the tempo in response, with Schmeichel preventing Sterling from finding a swift equaliser. Meanwhile, at the other end, another Vardy break could have extended the visitors’ lead, but this time his shot cleared the bar when a cross to Perez might have brought better results.
Just when the Foxes thought they may have seen out the storm, the pressure on them was finally made to tell.
Mahrez, who gave Chilwell a particularly torrid evening, cut in from the right again and his shot took a deflection off Çaglar Söyüncü to leave Schmeichel helpless.
For all their undoubted qualities, the home side were forced to turn to the dark arts of the game in order to gain the upper hand. After De Bruyne tricked Söyüncü into collecting a soft booking, Sterling tripped over Ricardo’s outstretched leg to earn a penalty from referee Dean when other officials, as we have observed in recent weeks, may instead have chosen to issue a yellow card.
However, on this occasion, the decision was upheld by VAR and Gündogan duly converted the spot-kick, despite Schmeichel’s valiant effort.
The visitors fought back strongly before the break, with Ederson producing a fine save to stop Vardy from adding to his impressive goal tally.
But the pattern of the game was soon resumed after the interval, with neither James Maddison nor Youri Tielemans able to make a meaningful impact.
Only fine work from Schmeichel stopped Mahrez from extending the home lead, though Vardy continued to pose a threat on the break, and almost conjured an equaliser with a cross which narrowly eluded the onrushing Barnes.
The winger’s collision with Ederson – rightly deemed a 50-50 challenge, despite considerable online opinions subsequently suggesting otherwise – saw him sustain an injury which forced him to limp off.
After Perez blazed over when well-placed in his final effort of the game, the home side finally confirmed victory when De Bruyne surged past Söyüncü to find Jesus stretching at the far post to turn home the cross.
As the midweek exertions finally began to catch up with the Foxes, they were unable to strike a meaningful blow in the closing stages, though Schmeichel managed, on this occasion at least, to stop his side from suffering a rout.
The defeat is the eighth in succession that Leicester have suffered in Manchester since the 2015-16 title campaign. Rodgers has not entirely addressed the vulnerabilities afflicting this team on travels to the top sides.
As in that momentous campaign, when the Foxes endured a mid-season wobble which saw just one win in seven games, the pressure is beginning to build.
It is to be hoped that in the coming weeks, this team will find enough resilience to deal with it as it did four years ago.
Manchester City (4-1-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Mendy; Gündogan (Rodri 79); Mahrez, De Bruyne (Agüero 90 + 1), B Silva, Sterling (Foden 89); Jesus. Subs not used: Bravo, Zinchenko, Cancelo, Garcia.
Goals: Mahrez (30), Gündogan (43 pen), Jesus (69)
Bookings: Gündogan, De Bruyne
Leicester City (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Ricardo, Evans, Söyüncü, Chilwell; Ndidi, Tielemans (Praet 77), Maddison; Perez (Gray 68), Vardy, Barnes (Albrighton 64). Subs not used: Ward, Justin, Morgan, Iheanacho.
Goal: Vardy (20)
Bookings: Söyüncü, Ndidi.
Referee: Mike Dean Attendance: 54 415
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation