Match Report: Manchester City 3-1 Leicester City (Premier League)

An Erling Haaland-inspired Manchester City romped to a crucial 3-1 victory over Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

The visitors were under new management following the arrival of interim boss Dean Smith but this could not slow down Pep Guardiola’s side, who seem to be going from strength to strength after picking up their 10th consecutive win in all competitions.

After a passive opening five minutes, the hosts unsurprisingly took the lead but the source and style of finish were both definitely surprising.

John Stones, who has been in excellent form of late, smashed in a loose ball from outside of the box and saw his left-footed effort fly past Daniel Iversen in the Leicester City net – a strike reminiscent of Rodri’s midweek scorcher against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

John Stones. No words. 🤯 @SkySportsPL pic.twitter.com/CZF6bTZNge

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) April 15, 2023

After several passionate renditions of ‘Johnny, Johnny Stones’ by the roaring Etihad faithful, Guardiola’s men were awarded a penalty shortly after 10 minutes after Wilfried Ndidi’s hand met Jack Grealish’s cross into the City box.

Haaland converted the spot kick into the bottom right corner with ease, striking the base of the post before the Norwegian added a third goal for City and his second of the evening to all but secure the win for the Premier League champions.

Kevin De Bruyne battled to win back possession in the middle of the park and launched a counter, fending off a few challenges before threading a perfect ball through the Foxes backline.

Haaland’s first touch set him in a perfect position to test Iversen and the in-form forward made no mistake, chipping the Leicester goalkeeper to make it three after just 25 minutes of action.

What followed was a fairly uneventful end to the first half, as Bernardo Silva was cautioned before the sides went into the break separated by a huge divide.

Goalscorers Stones and Haaland departed at half-time and were replaced by Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez ahead of City’s Champions League quarter-final return leg in Munich next week.

It was not long before Guardiola made a third substitution, as Kalvin Phillips came on for Rodri after seven minutes played in the second half.

City proceeded with their quest for a fourth goal as goal difference could play a telling role in a tightly contested title battle with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

Riyad Mahrez shot from range against his old club but the Algerian saw his spectacular effort saved by Iversen.

Though City did not have a fourth goal, they did make a fourth change with De Bruyne departing the field for academy product Cole Palmer.

The visitors had to wait until the 70th minute for their first shot on target but unfortunately for Smith’s side, it came through a weak effort by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Guardiola made his fifth and final change as the game strayed towards a lull, bringing on Sergio Gomez for Jack Grealish in an attempt to see out the remainder of the game with a clean sheet.

Despite cruising for the majority of the game, City allowed Leicester to pull a goal back with former City man Kelechi Iheanacho tapping into an empty net after being brought on at the break.

The Premier League champions started to panic and Ruben Dias uncharacteristically lost possession in his own half to James Maddison, who spared the Portugal international’s blushes with a crucial save from Maddison’s tame effort on goal.

City were once again caught off guard when Iheanacho’s shot beat Ederson but saw the post in what was a typically frantic end to a game that saw the Blues take a three-goal lead within 30 minutes.

The result places Manchester City just three points away from Arsenal, who take on West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday.

Guardiola’s men will now switch their focus to Bayern Munich and their bid to seal a Champions League semi-final berth for the third successive year should they see off the German side at their own backyard on Wednesday.