2 April 2025
Man City 2 Leicester 0
Despite having the FA Cup as their only chance of silverware this season, what is a bigger goal for Pep Guardiola’s side is to ensure that they book their spot in next season’s Champions League. They welcomed lowly Leicester City to The Etihad, knowing nothing but victory would do. On current form, they could not have asked for a weaker opponent to play.
Everyone at Leicester knew it was going to be a struggle to stay up this season. There were many who were deluded enough to think 38-year-old Jamie Vardy could fire them to safety but that was never going to happen. The Foxes are struggling to score goals and conceding them at an alarming rate, not a good formula at any level.
Ndidi got robbed of the ball deep in his own half. Doku played it out wide to Savinho, who picked out an unmarked Grealish in the box. He hit a first-time shot into the bottom corner to register his first goals for 26 games. It was the worst possible start for The Foxes, falling behind after only two minutes. Considering they had failed to score in their last six games, you wondered if this one was already beyond them.
The Etihad at this point looked empty as people left their seats in protest for Man City’s new partnership with a third-party ticket reseller. The only wonder is how many years this protest has been going on for. For the club itself, they might as well hook up with ticket touts now, the Premier League won’t do anything. They could become Europe’s largest distributor of cocaine and the powers that be would turn a blind eye it seems.
Even on the rare occasions Leicester managed to find their way into their opponent’s half, it all looked so static and forced. El Khannouss shifted it onto his right foot before trying to bend one in the far corner. Ederson was at full-stretch as the ball narrowly missed the target. A warning that some of these Foxes’ players could spring a surprise, given the opportunity.
It is now ten hours since Leicester City last scored a goal. We have seen some teams struggle at this level but this is a side so far out of their depth. Hostages around the world who are about to face a firing squad, when offered one last request, it will be for The Foxes to be taking the shot. You start to wonder how much more time Ruud van Nistelrooy has at the King Power.
A hopeful clipped pass forward from Gundogan seemed to heading towards Hermansen. He gave the call to his defenders that it was his ball but then seemed to turn away from it as he fumbled it into the path of Marmoush. The Egyptian striker hit it first-time and scored, with his shot hitting the underside of the bar on its way in.
At this stage, you felt for Leicester City. This was starting to shape up like a real hiding in store for The Foxes. The hosts almost added another as the ball was cut back to Marmoush again. His effort struck Faes and stayed out of the goal on this occasion. The visitors were like a boxer just being held up by the ropes, craving that half-time interval.
Man City were growing in confidence and looked like scoring every time they come forward. Grealish slotted a pass in between the lines for Gundogan to run onto. He cut it back from the byline to Savinho, whose first-time shot was brilliantly turned over by Hermansen with a reaction save. He made up for his part in the second goal with that one.
After the break, Man City continued to dominate. Grealish went on a mazy run into the box but, just as he was about to pull the trigger, El Khannouss got an all-important challenge in to deny him. Moments later Marmoush should have worked the keeper at the very least, as he sent a shot sailing over as he met a whipped cross at the near post.
The atmosphere had become a little flat in the second-half but that was soon to change with a substitution. Savinho departed to be replaced by Bobb, who received a huge ovation from the fans. This was his first game back since a nasty leg break. The youngster will no doubt recover well from the injury that had kept him out for the best part of the campaign.
Pep Guardiola still knows he has a massive task ahead him at Man City, Despite the changes in their fortunes and now having a top four spot in their own control, they still do not look anything like the team who have dominated this league for so long. There is no real answer to why there has been so much of a drop off, Rodri is certainly not the root cause as good as he may be.
Man City held on for a comfortable win but will need to show more of a killer instinct to put their opponents to the sword in games where they are so dominant. As for Leicester, they seem like a wounded animal that needs to be put out of its misery. The Premier League isn’t for everyone and they are certainly not a squad who can mix it up at this level.
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