By Samuel A. December 29, 2024
Pep Guardiola celebrated his 500th game with Manchester City Football Club with a hard-earned 2-0 win at Leicestershire. The Cityzens climbed back into the top five with the victory, having recorded just one across their previous nine prior outings, while the Foxes remained in the bottom three after a fourth loss on the bounce.
Savinho’s opener and first goal in the Premier League gave the club the early confidence they needed and calmed the anxiety a bit, but it was far from convincing in the first half. Jamie Vardy’s penalty claim, which looked certain to be given after being brought down by Stefan Ortega, was waved away due to the offside flag, before James Justin’s header cannoned off the post just before the break.
City weathered the storm after the restart as Leicester continued to push for an equaliser, with Vardy going close from a very close range, only for Erling Haaland to score his first goal in about a month and just his fourth in his last 13 appearances, after rising highest to meet Savinho’s cross on the counter with 15 minutes to go.
It was a much needed win for Guardiola and his players, although they still looked a shadow of the team we have grown accustomed to watching for the past 500 games.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola speaking to the media 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 [their game against Leicester] is not the best.”
