Match Report & Player Ratings: Manchester City 2-0 Leicester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City cruised past relegation-threatened Leicester City with a dominant 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium this Wednesday evening.

An early goal from Jack Grealish opened up the scoring before Omar Marmoush capitalised on a defensive error to score the second goal of the night and his fifth of the season.

It took the hosts just two minutes to open the scoring against the visiting Leicester City through Jack Grealish’s smart finish into the bottom corner. Savinho did well to pick out the number ten after some hard work from Jeremy Doku to win the ball back for City.

Pep Guardiola’s side were by far the more dominant team in the opening fifteen minutes, having possession in the opposition’s half and looking to find a second goal. Omar Marmoush and Savinho combined well down the right side but the cross amounted to nothing.

Shortly after, Leicester had their first opportunity at goal through a long-range effort from El Khannouss with his shot curling just wide of the post and out for a goal-kick.

Omar Marmoush is proving to be one of the signings of the season for Manchester City as he netted City’s second of the game on the half-hour mark. The Egyptian latched onto a mistake inside the Leicester penalty area and placed the ball into the back of the net to double the reigning champions lead.

The new number seven was proving to be a handful for the visiting defence, creating a chance for Savinho and then winning a free-kick in a dangerous position to the right of the Leicester City penalty area.

Towards the end of the first half, Mads Hermansen pulled off a strong save to deny Savinho from scoring City’s third of the opening forty-five minutes. Ilkay Gundogan played a ball back to the Brazilian whose shot was turned behind for a corner.

Despite the persistent pressure from the sky-blues, Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s side held on for the rest of the half, going into the break with just the two goal deficit.

Similar to the start of the first half, Jack Grealish was at the centre of attention when he went down inside the Fox’s penalty area but the referee took no notice of the Englishman’s claims.

Fans around the Etihad Stadium jumped out of their seats as they thought that Omar Marmoush had extended the Manchester City lead to three. Jeremy Doku played the ball to Marmoush but he struggled to find his balance and the ball flew high and wide of the goal.

The Premier League champions were having the vast majority of the ball in the second half but the Leicester defence were standing firm to deny a third goal for City.

Savinho was still causing problems for the visitors, forcing Luke Thomas into picking up a yellow card after he brought down the winger in his own half.

With the final whistle fast approaching, City had slowed the pace down, forcing the opposition into fouls and began to make substitutions.

One of which saw Oscar Bobb return to the first team after long absence through injury. The Norwegian returned to an applause from the Manchester City fans.

The final minutes of the game saw Jack Grealish win a free-kick just outside of the visiting penalty area but Marmoush’s shot from the dead ball hit the wall and came to nothing.

Grealish was given the Man of the Match award with the game finishing at 2-0. A strong performance from the Cityzens to claim the three points and build towards the Manchester derby this coming Sunday!

Here’s how the Manchester City players fared in this convincing 2-0 victory!

Starting XI

Ederson – 7

Had almost nothing to do but was composed on the ball. Will be happy with the clean sheet.

Matheus Nunes – 8

Added threat as an overlap on the right-side with Savinho.

Ruben Dias – 8

Pushed the team forward into the Leicester half to keep the press on.

Josko Gvardiol – 8

Overlapped on the left and managed to get back when needed.

Nico O’Reilly – 8

Came into midfield and looked to break through the tight block.

Ilkay Gundogan – 8

Controlled the ball and dictated play around the Leicester team in midfield.

Nico Gonzalez – 8.5

Stopped any Leicester counterattack and won the ball back high up the pitch.

Jeremy Doku – 9

Played a huge role in the opening goal and has created a lot tonight.

Jack Grealish – 9

Took his goal well and enjoyed his freedom in the final third.

Savinho – 9

Got the assist for the first goal and was creating problems for the defence all game.

Omar Marmoush – 9

Good eye for being in the right place at the right time for his goal. Worked well with Savinho on the right.

Substitutes

James McAtee – 7

Made effective forward runs when he came on.

Oscar Bobb – 6

Nice to see him back on the pitch and playing. Did not have much time to influence the game.

Rico Lewis – 6

Did his job in the last minutes of the game to keep the two-goal lead.

Vitor Reis – 6

Came on with less than two minutes to play and had little to do.