Manchester City keep pressure on Arsenal with ruthless display against Leicester City
It’s that time of the season when Manchester City rarely drop points. Pep Guardiola’s side have picked form at the right moment and are blowing away anyone before them.
Having impressively trounced Bayern Munich 3-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal, the Cityzens returned to domestic action on Saturday (April 15) with the same ruthlessness against Leicester City.
A first-half blitz saw Manchester City take a commanding 3-0 lead after just 25 minutes following a double from the in-form Erling Haaland and another from John Stones.
Although Kelechi Iheanacho pulled one back for the Foxes in the second half, City served notice to the rest of the division that they mean business in their pursuit of a third straight Premier League title.
Cityzens demolish Leicester
Leicester City haven’t been great this season and the fact that they haven’t won their last ten games is indicative of their struggles. That made them underdogs ahead of the game against Manchester City, but Guardiola’s side left nothing to chance by killing off the game early.
It was a demolition exercise at the Etihad, and the game was literally won before the half-hour mark. That Guardiola had the luxury of taking off Stones and Haaland at half-time and also substituted Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish later to give them rest typifies how comfortable an outing the defending champions had.
Manchester City have now won their last ten games across competitions. Being in contention for the FA Cup and Champions League means they could end the season with a treble.
Manchester City ramp up pressure on Arsenal
While Arsenal did not play on Saturday, many of their fans would’ve taken a keen interest in Manchester City’s game against Leicester. If they were praying for an upset, their hopes were dashed, as the Cityzens won again to keep the pressure on the leaders.
They’ve been here before and twice they chased Liverpool down and overtook them in the title race. Arsenal may have their destiny in their own hands, but Guardiola and his side have shown that they're ready to travel the distance.
“Like I said lately, it is win, win and win. They (Arsenal) have had an incredible run this season, and I don’t think they are going to drop many points, so what we have to do is be there,” Guardiola said after the game, as quoted by Irish News. “It was important for us to win today to arrive for the ‘final’ we have against them in the next Premier League game.”
Manchester City are now three points behind Arsenal, who have a difficult test against West Ham United on Sunday (April 16).
The pressure is on, and the onus now lies on the Gunners to respond to their rivals’ latest win to stay six points clear of City, who have a game in hand.