In a largely one-sided affair at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Manchester City were treated to a moment of magic from Kevin de Bruyne to beat Leicester City 1-0.
The first half was as comfortable as it can get for Manchester City without a goal being scored.
The Blues' game control was near total, but Leicester’s extremely defensive shape meant that there were very few clear chances for either side.
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Early in the second half, the deadlock was finally broken; and how.
Jack Grealish won a free kick around 30 yards from goal, which Kevin de Bruyne stepped up to take.
The Belgian struck his effort perfectly, sending it looping into the top left corner via the post and giving Manchester City the lead.
Leicester opened up somewhat after the goal, and put some pressure on the City advantage, but couldn’t get the goal they needed.
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The closest they came was a great effort from Youri Tielemans from a corner, but Ederson denied him by tipping the ball onto the bar.
The win sees Manchester City head top of the league, at least until Arsenal play on Sunday afternoon.
Here’s how we rated the players for Manchester City’s narrow but deserved win over Leicester City!
Starting XI
Ederson - 7.5
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Aware that his place may now be under scrutiny, Ederson did well to protect his clean sheet, most notably with a sharp reaction save to deny Youri Tielemans’ volley.
John Stones - 7.5
Was subject to special attention from Harvey Barnes, but dealt with his one-on-one situations well.
Manuel Akanji - 7
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Passed the ball calmly, had very little defending to do before his substitution.
Aymeric Laporte - 8
Pocketed Jamie Vardy in supreme style. Good passing too.
João Cancelo - 7.5
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Contributed well to the possession play in the first period, and didn’t get much defending to do on account of essentially playing as a left winger.
Rodri - 8
Broke up so much play with excellent defensive midfield work.
Kevin de Bruyne - 8 (MOTM)
Always trying to produce something, which he did in spectacular fashion with his match-winning free kick goal.
Ilkay Gündogan - 6.5
Unfortunate that the positions he was picking up didn’t translate to him seeing much of the ball in City’s possession-heavy approach.
Bernardo Silva - 7
Had some good moments in the first half, was a little wasteful in the second period though.
Julián Álvarez - 6
Just wasn’t his day. Not often involved, and when he was, his touch was rarely good enough.
Jack Grealish - 7
Pretty solid in possession and won the free kick for the goal.
Substitutes
Rúben Dias - 6
Struggled a little to get up to the pace of the game.
Phil Foden - 6.5
Some good moments of holdup play to see out the game.
Topics: Leicester City, Manchester City, Premier League, Football
Hamish MacRae