All Manchester City had to do against Leicester City was pick up all three points. It didn’t matter how they did it, but they simply had to win at the King Power Stadium. Pep Guardiola’s side did just that with a 2-nil win over the Foxes. In the scheme of City’s season, it has the potential to be the moment that kickstarts their stuttering campaign. That’s the hope after they finally returned to winning ways against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side.
It wasn’t a typical Manchester City performance against Leicester City. Pep Guardiola’s side had to ride their luck at the King Power Stadium. To the host’s credit, they did take the game to the world champions. Leicester’s bravado did force City back throughout the second half of Sunday’s match. But luck has evaded Pep Guardiola’s side during their poor run of results. At the King Power Stadium, City had that on their side, and they picked a crucial victory.
But that could be all it takes for Manchester City to get back on track. It didn’t matter how they picked up a win, they simply had to find one. Winning breeds confidence and that had been lacking in City’s recent matches. The hope is that Pep Guardiola’s side can carry the confidence from their win at the King Power Stadium into their next match against West Ham at the Etihad. If they can they may be able to build something off the back of Sunday’s victory.
Pep Guardiola and Erling Haaland were happy to see Manchester City return to winning ways.
Speaking after his team’s win over Leicester Pep Guardiola spoke about how he hadn’t made any major tactical changes for Sunday’s match. He was happy to see his team return to winning ways and was also hopeful that it could be the start of something as key players return from injury. Guardiola told the media post-game: “I changed a bit against Everton today I didn’t change anything from what we’ve done. This is one thing I reflect on; you have to change a lot in those periods – or less, I don’t know – but today was quite similar to what we’ve done in the past. Erling broke a little this bad momentum of not scoring goals, Kevin is back so step by step hopefully we can get players back and back to playing our best. I thought a lot to change – yeah, I thought – but the alternative wasn’t as good. That’s why I didn’t change much, it was more to give the players calm, have the players back and fit. This is the most important thing in the end.”
Erling Haaland was happy to see Manchester City return to winning ways against Leicester City. That’s all that mattered to City’s top scorer. He told the media after Manchester City’s win: “Not much to say. It’s good to win. I’m just happy that we’re winning. Yeah, it’s important to look ahead. We have to keep going and stay positive and focus on the right things.”
Summary
The hope is that Manchester City’s win over Leicester City can now be the start of something for Pep Guardiola’s side. It didn’t matter how they won at the King Power Stadium all that mattered was they found a way to return to winning ways. If they can carry that momentum into their next Premier League fixture against West Ham it may set City on their way. That’s the hope after their hard-earned win over Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side on Sunday.
