Leicester City 0, Manchester City 1
Bernardo Silva scored the winner as Manchester City moved back into the top four with a gritty win at Leicester City.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Foxes had beaten City at the Etihad last season but had lost to their opponents at home in the league for the last two years before Silva’s strike made it three in a row.
City, unchanged from the win over Arsenal, were not at their best but they managed to secure a third win in a row thanks to a player who reportedly wanted to leave the club in the summer.
Silva lifted the loose ball over Kasper Schmeichel from close range after Joao Cancelo’s fierce shot had been blocked by Caglar Soyuncu in the second half.
And he approaching his hard working best as City’s other forward looking players looked off the pace.
The Foxes had earlier had a Jamie Vardy goal ruled out for offside after a VAR check while the lively Harvey Barnes was defied by Ederson and also struck the crossbar while Kyle Walker produced a match saving block.
City, who were boosted by the availability of Ederson and Gabriel Jesus after the Brazilian FA had threatened to suspend most of the Premier League’s Brazil internationals after their clubs refused to release them due to COVID which would have ruled both out of this crucial game.
And in-form Jesus forced a great early save from Schmeichel while Ederson produced a critical late save from Ademola Lookman to preserve the points.
City will have been happy to see Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden return to action on the City bench after injury layoffs as changes look likely for the RB Leipzig Champions League game next week.
Match Stats – Leicester City 0, Manchester City 1
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Soyuncu, Bertrand, Vestergaard (Evans 61), Castagne, Barnes (Iheanacho 73), Tielemans, Maddison (Lookman 73), Albrighton, Ndidi, Vardy
Leicester City subs not used: Ward, Amartey, Pereira, Dewsbury-Hall, Soumare, Daka
Booked: Soyuncu
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodri, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Jesus (Fernandinho 84), Grealish, Torres (Sterling 64)
Manchester City subs not used: Carson, Stones, Ake, Zinchenko, De Bruyne, Foden, Mahrez
Booked: Laporte, Rodri
Goal: Bernardo Silva 62
Referee: Paul Tierney