Manchester City 3-1 Leicester City: Player ratings for the Sky Blues as Erling Haaland double leads holders to another win | Premier League 2022-23
Manchester City kept the heat on leaders Arsenal in the title race with a 3-1 win over Leicester City in the Premier League.
A brace from Erling Haaland after John Stones' early opener had the Sky Blues 3-0 up inside 25 minutes of kick-off, while Kelechi Iheanacho pulled one back for the Foxes late on.
It took the holders just five minutes to go in front as Stones latched onto a header from Rodri from a corner which the visitors failed to deal with.
Things soon went from bad to worse for Leicester as City won a penalty just six minutes later, and Haaland made no mistake from 12 yards.
Then in the 25th minute, the Norwegian came back to haunt the Foxes with a second goal as City were running riot at the Etihad.
However, the momentum of the game receded after the break, with Guardiola taking off some of his key players early, keeping next week's visit to Munich in mind.
This allowed Leicester to claw their way back into the game, with Iheanacho's introduction firing up the visitors. Indeed, the Nigerian then struck in the 75th minute to reduce the deficit, tapping home from point-blank range after Ederson's save on Harry Souttar landed the ball right at the striker's feet.
City pushed for a fourth but it didn't come, although they wouldn't mind with three points in the bag. The gap between them and Arsenal is now reduced to just three points after 30 games played as the title race is heating up.
Here are the player ratings for Manchester City:
Ederson - 7/10
It was going smoothly for him until Iheanacho tapped home from point-blank range.
John Stones - 7.5/10
He put City in front inside five minutes of kick-off with an absolute screamer and was hardly tested in defense.
Ruben Dias - 7/10
The Portuguese ace passed the ball around well but nothing spectacular as Leicester didn't attack well enough.
Aymeric Laporte - 7/10
His passing range was on full display and stationed himself high up the pitch to join up City's attack.
Rodri - 8/10
The Spaniard continued from where he left off in midweek with another eye-catching display. He got his side forward with accurate long balls and provided the assist for Stones' opener with a header.
Bernardo Silva - 7.5/10
Every time City were on the offensive, Silva was involved. He could've been less sloppy in possession though, losing the ball 10 times.
Kyle Walker - 7/10
Leicester's non-existent attack meant he had the chance to roam forward and the former Tottenham Hotspur man gleefully did so.
Riyad Mahrez - 6/10
The Algerian wizard couldn't weave his magic tonight, mainly due to his positioning. The striker's role just doesn't suit him. He only had 66 touches to the ball in the entire 90 minutes.
Kevin De Bruyne - 7/10
De Bruyne was at his usual best today, even bagging an assist for Haaland's second goal.
Jack Grealish - 6.5/10
Although he didn't offer any direct attacking threat, Grealish was key to winning possession in Leicester's half. He engaged in 10 ground duels and won nine of them.
Erling Haaland - 9/10
Two more goals. 32 for the league season. We're out of superlatives to describe him.
Substitutes
Manuel Akanji (46' for Stones) - 6/10
The Swiss international was hardly seen with much of the action taking place at the other end of the field.
Julian Alvarez (46' for Haaland) - 5/10
He replaced Haaland at the break but couldn't make the chance count, failing to muster a single shot on target.
Kalvin Phillips (53' for Rodri) - 6/10
He laid a few good long balls and passed the ball around well too.
Cole Palmer (62' for De Bruyne) - 6/10
The youngster got a few minutes under the belt.
Sergio Gomez (74' for Grealish) - 6/10
He nearly conceded a penalty to Leicester late on after the ball came off his arm inside the area but the referee waved all the appeals away.