MANCHESTER CITY 1, LEICESTER CITY 0
Vincent Kompany came up with a massive goal from 30 yards out to win what could be his last game for Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium to put the club in pole position for their second consecutive Premier League title under Pep Guardiola
Leicester City sitting deep but moving quickly
In their final Premier League home game, Manchester City were denied for longer than the 59 minutes that West Ham frustrated the Citizens for.
The Foxes sat deep to close down the spaces for City to move in. They tried to crowd Bernardo Silva out while attacking down City’s exposed left flank which was being patrolled by Oleksandr Zinchenko.
They retained a counter attacking option with Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton but were eventually forced deeper and deeper by City who had to be wary of the traps set by Brendon Rodgers’ side.
One such counter attack saw Harry Maguire barrelling up the left wing before squaring the ball to James Maddison who went for goal from 30 yards out but missed the target.
And Hamza Choudhury found Foxes sub Kelechi Iheanacho after City had gone into the lead, the ex-City striker should have done better – screwing his and Leicester’s last best chance wide.
Tactical Fouling
Without the defensive shield provided by the injured Fernandinho David Silva was notable in his shielding of the back four with tactical fouls to stop Leicester City’s counter attack from catching them on the break.
Fine Margins
Sergio Aguero met Ilkay Gundogan’s corner with a header which came down off the post and was clawed off the goal line by Kasper Schmeichel in the first of of a tense match at the Etihad – City’s best chance aside from some long range shots.
Leroy Sane
City were snatching at shots early in the second half so Pep Guardiola deployed Leroy Sane as an extra attacker as City went to 4-2-4 for the last 35 minutes. He was fitful but grew into the game, doing his bit defensively once there was a lead to defend.
Captain’s performance by Vincent Kompany
Vincent Kompany had literally put his body on the line to block an early Leicester City chance by Ricardo Pereira.
The organised Foxes had frustrated the home side for 70 minutes – the longest any side has lasted in the Premier League at the Etihad without conceding.
The Belgian took a look from 30 yards out with a deep lying Foxes formation in front of him so he took a chance and had a shot – and it arrowed into the top corner.
PLAYER RATINGS – Manchester City 1, Leicester City 0
Ederson: 6. Comfortable early save from Youri Tielemans. Didn’t have to worry about much else.
Kyle Walker: 7. Caught out a couple of times early on, hit the second tier with a wayward shot.
Vincent Kompany: 8. Put his body on the line to block an early shot by Ricardo Pereira. Captain’s performance and a captain’s goal in the 70th minute – what a rocket with the Foxes backing off him!
Aymeric Laporte: 7. Crossfield balls to Bernardo gave City a good outlet. Defensively solid.
Oleksandr Zinchenko: 7. Put some probing passes in, defensively sound even though under pressure from Leicester who targeted his flank.
Ilkay Gundogan: 7. Few chances to get killer pass off against a defensively dense Leicester side. His set pieces were ok and he shot wide in the second half though.
David Silva: 6. Spent more time breaking up the Leicester build-up but also put in a great pass to pick out Phil Foden early on and his long range drive whistled past the back post.
Phil Foden: 6. Sent early chance straight at Kasper Schmeichel and had another effort blocked.
Bernardo Silva: 7. Energetic performance. Battled hard and got the better of Ben Chilwell as well as making Foxes defenders dizzy with a great first half dribble.
Raheem Sterling: 6. A little hard to get past the Leicester defence. Saw a header go wide. Went to centre forward after Leroy Sane came on and went down in the box when challenged by Ben Chilwell and Hamza Choudhury but Mike Dean waved away the penalty appeal.
Sergio Aguero: 6. Dropped deep to help the build-up. Saw his header from Gundogan’s corner hit the bar before being clawed out by Schmeichel – no goal as it didn’t cross the line.
Leroy Sane (on for Phil Foden 56): 6. On as an extra wide attacker with Raheem Sterling going central. Lost the ball to allow Maddison to find Albrighton for a shot.
Gabriel Jesus (on for Sergio Aguero 87): No time to mark.
John Stones (on for David Silva 90+1): No time to mark,
GOAL – Manchester City 1, Leicester City 0
Man City 1, Leicester City 0: 70. Vincent Kompany decided to take a pot shot from 30 yards after Aymeric Laporte squared the ball to him with every Leicester player in front of him and the stadium rose as the ball flew in past Kasper Schmeichel.
MATCH STATS – Manchester City 1, Leicester City 0
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko, Gundogan, David Silva (Stones 90+1), Foden (Sane 56), Bernardo Silva, Sterling, Aguero (Jesus 86)
Man City Subs not used: Muric, Danilo, Mahrez, Otamendi
Booked: David Silva 22 (foul on Youri Tielemans), Kompany 44 (late challenge on James Maddison), Jesus 89
Goal: Kompany 70
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Pereira, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell, Ndidi, Albrighton (Gray 86), Tielemans (Barnes 75), Choudhury, Maddison (Iheanacho 80), Vardy
Leicester City Subs Not Used: Ward, Morgan, Mendy, Fuchs
Booked: Maguire 35, Iheanacho 90 (foul on Gabriel Jesus)
Referee: Mike Dean