Leicester City 0-2 Manchester City: 5 talking points as clinical City comfortably see off chasing Foxes | Premier League 2020-21
Second-half goals from Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus handed Manchester City a well-deserved 2-0 win over Leicester City in a top-of-the-table clash at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
After an evenly-matched first half, the deadlock was broken in the 58th minute by an unlikely source as Mendy curled a composed right-footed finish past Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel into the far corner.
And, having dazed their opponents by landing the first blow, the visitors doubled their advantage in the 74th minute. Jesus finished off an incisive City move after neat interplay with Raheem Sterling in front of the Leicester goal.
The 2-0 victory means that table-toppers Manchester City are just 11 points away from reclaiming the Premier League title. Leicester, meanwhile, who were well and truly outplayed by the league leaders, remain in third place in the midst of a hotly-contested battle for the top four.
On that note, here are the 5 major talking points from the game.
#1 Manchester City take revenge for early season drubbing by Leicester City
When Manchester City welcomed Leicester City to the Etihad Stadium back in September, Pep Guardiola’s men were handed a 5-2 humbling by the Foxes.
Fast forward to April, and the Premier League landscape has changed significantly since then. City are sitting atop the league table, having suffered only two defeats in their 28 fixtures since the loss at the Etihad.
One of the major outcomes of the heavy defeat was the City’s acquisition of Portuguese international Ruben Dias, who joined just two days later. He has since taken the league by storm and been part of a near-impregnable City defense alongside John Stones and, occasionally, Aymeric Laporte.
It was Dias and Laporte who lined up against Leicester and put in an assured defensive performance, a far cry from the misadventures of Nathan Ake and Eric Garcia, who had been in City’s starting lineup in the reverse fixture.
Manchester City’s solid defense laid the foundation for their attackers to mount a formidable offensive display. They did so with characteristic efficiency as they ran out deserved winners and banished the demons of that 5-2 home defeat to the same opposition.
#2 Sergio Aguero begins his Manchester City farewell tour
During the international break, Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero announced that would be leaving the club at the end of the season.
Although the City striker has missed a large part of the season due to injury, he returned to first-team action just before the international break and was handed a start alongside Gabriel Jesus for this fixture.
However, it appears Aguero will need a run of games to regain match-fitness, the lack of which seemed evident in this fixture. Despite being up against one of the Premier League’s most solid defenses, the Argentine was less than clinical in front of goal.
With his side favorably placed in every competition they have participated in this season, coach Pep Guardiola can hand his star striker the necessary opportunities on the pitch. This means that Aguero could yet end the season with a decent goal haul alongside multiple additions to his glittering trophy cabinet as he bids farewell to the Etihad.
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