Leicester City 0-2 Man City: Guardiola’s side crawl to priceless victory as Haaland ends goal drought
Erling Haaland ended his goal drought and Manchester City returned to winning ways as they crawled to a 2-0 victory at relegation candidates Leicester City.
Man City headed into Sunday’s match having won just one of their previous 13 matches in all competitions, but they earned a priceless victory at The King Power Stadium.
The visitors opened the scoring just past the 20th-minute mark as Savinho converted the rebound after Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk saved Phil Foden’s initial shot.
This goal did not settle Man City’s nerves too much as they looked leggy while Leicester City had a real go at getting back into the game.
Jamie Vardy had a couple of opportunities to level the match but he and Leicester were wasteful before Man City doubled their advantage with 15 minutes remaining.
Haaland headed home his first goal since the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace on December 7 after getting on the end of a cross by Savinho.
Man City were far from their best, but Pep Guardiola will be hoping that they can build confidence from this result heading into the New Year. This result leaves them fifth in the Premier League ahead of the remaining matchday 19 matches.
Speaking post-match, Guardiola admitted his main feeling was “relief” after the final whistle.
He said: “Our mood is in a better position. It was tight in the second half, they were much better.
“We don’t have energy to sustain 90-minutes. Hopefully the New Year can help us bounce back.
“To get results you have to do something. To do it in the position we have, many good things happened today.
“It is not enjoyable right now it is just relief. We have done incredible things for many years.
“It is not the best.”
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Haaland added: “Good to win. I’m just happy we are winning.
“It is important to look ahead. We have to focus on the right things.
“It is always a relief when you score. It was an important goal to go 2-0 up. Leicester played really well, we knew it would be difficult. It’s been a difficult time.
“Now it’s New Year so let’s not think too much about football! We can rest a bit and then we go again.”
Pundit Jamie Redknapp meanwhile said Guardiola will “know it’s a big three points” for his side.
“They have to grind some wins out and get better and better and that’s what you’ll see happen [with Man City].
“Pep Guardiola is excited… he’s delighted and he’ll know it’s a big three points for them.
“But you can’t say it was vintage… you go 1-0 up against Leicester, usually it’s two or three more. But it was a struggle for them.”