Foxes’ key man / Image eurosport.co.uk
Claudio Ranieri’s troops have made an important step towards the Premier League trophy as they have managed a comprehensive away win at Manchester City 3-1.
Foxes have played a smart game, using every chance they got to punish the helpless Citizens, who remain in the second spot in the standings six points adrift of leaders Leicester City.
Things have unravelled quickly for the home side as Leicester City scored after only three minutes in the game.
Robert Huth picked up the ball inside the box, got himself into a good position after a set piece and his deflected shot went past Joe Hart for 1-0.
Stunned by the early lead from the visitors, Manchester City were unable to recover until the end of the match. Leicester City were once again impressive and three points were well deserved at the Etihad.
Leicester City could’ve gone two up five minutes later, but Jamie Vardy’s promising effort has been denied by a stunning save from Joe Hart. Leicester City striker had the total of four attempts on goal against Manchester City on Saturday, but Joe Hart denied them all, leaving the Foxes star empty-handed on the occasion.
It took 15 minutes for the hosts to recover from the initial shock and it was exactly then that we saw the first good opportunity for the home side.
David Silva weaved his way through the backline and fired a fine shot which went just wide of the left post. Yaya Toure attempted on the half-hour mark, but his drive also went wide. The hosts fired the first shot on target after 33 minutes of the game, when Sergio Aguero latched on a pass on the edge of the box, but he was unable to trouble Kasper Schmeichel who was comfortable with his save.
Pellegrini’s men dominated the proceedings but Leicester City were compact, organized and disciplined in defence.
Despite the dominant possession of 63.9% to Leicester’s 36.1%, Manchester City just could make their attacks count. They will have been left disappointed with referee’s decision not to award Zabaleta with a penalty as the City defender was fouled just on the box line, but City have none other than themselves to blame for the Saturday’s defeat.
Kante and Morgan were particularly impressive with their fine defending against Pellegrini’s men, as Claudio Ranieri used his tactics to outwit his counterpart. High pressing, man-marking and tight defending over the City’s key man Sergio Aguero yielded incredible results and have left City feeling frustrated over their inability to get closer to goal.
Riyad Mahrez was once again one of the most agile players for Leicester City and it was exactly him who scored the second goals for Leicester City at the beginning of the second half, having already made an impact with his assist for Huth’s opener early in the game.
Mahrez made a solo run into the City’s box, tricking his defender and firing a precise shot past Joe Hart to make it 2-0.
Leicester City could have gone three-up only a couple of minutes later but Shinji Okazaki was denied by Hart, who pulled a reflexive save to keep his net still.
However, Leicester City nailed the win at the hour-mark with Robert Huth rounding off his impressive display with a brace. Leicester City defender planted his header perfectly into the left side of the goal leaving Joe Hart frozen at his goal line.
Manchester City’s fruitless efforts did not worry Foxes for the remaining 30 minutes, but Claudio Ranieri will be disappointed with the fact his team let their guard down in the closing stages of the match.
Morgan made his first mistake in the game as he was a tad too late behind Sergio Aguero, who picked up a perfect cross from the second-half substitute Bersant Celina to head home and set the final result of the game, 3-1.
With three minutes left on the clock, Manchester City could only congratulate Leicester City, who have once again proved they are the force to be reckoned with.
Ranieri’s team are travelling to the Emirates in the next round for yet another tough challenge to their Premier League title bid.
MANCHESTER CITY: Hart 6.5 – Zabaleta 6.5, Otamendi 7, Demichelis 7, Kolarov 6.5 – Fernandinho 6.5, Delph 6 (Iheanacho 6 )– Silva 7 (Celina 6.5), Toure 6 (Fernando 6), Sterling 6.5 – Aguero 7.
Unused subs: Caballero, Clichy, Garcia, Sagna.
LEICESTER CITY: Schmeichel 6.5 – Simpson 7, Morgan 7, Huth 8, Fuchs 7.5 – Mahrez 8 (Gray 6.5), Drinkwate7r, Kante, Albrighton 7 (Dyer 6.5) – Okazaki 6.5 (Ulloa 6) – Vardy 7.
Unused subs: Chiwell, King, Scwarzer, Wasilewski.
REFEREE: Anthony Taylor
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