Manchester City took a narrow win in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. On a visit to Leicester City, manager Josep Guardiola’s team was 0-1 too strong. The only goal of the game was scored by Kevin De Bruyne, who shot a phenomenal free kick into the cross a few minutes after the break. Thanks to the three-pointer going the Citizens For now, Arsenal can regain top spot in the Premier League if they beat Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Guardiola changed his team in several places compared to the Champions League match with Borussia Dortmund (0-0). The main absentee from City’s side was Erling Braut Haaland, who was punched in the foot last Tuesday and failed to recover in time for the Leicester encounter. Julián Álvarez replaced the Norwegian in the striker position. Furthermore, the heart of the defense also consisted of other names: Nathan Aké had to make way for Aymeric Laporte, while John Stones was preferred over Rúben Dias this time.
?? KING KEVIN! ?? What a phenomenal free kick from Kevin de Bruyne! He puts Manchester City ahead 0-1 against Leicester City. ?? https://t.co/nsrx6czf2E#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/8Ie2twWmdI
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) October 29, 2022
It soon became clear that Haaland was greatly missed by Guardiola’s side. Leicester decided, not unexpectedly, to park the bus, leaving City struggling to get through hostile defence. There was absolutely no lack of ball possession for the visitors, but De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Álvarez, among others, lacked sharpness around the box. Leicester’s only shot on goal before halftime came from Harvey Barnes’ foot, although his effort was caught by goalkeeper Ederson Moraes.
The entertainment value for the neutral spectator immediately increased in the opening phase of the second half. After a foul on Jack Grealish about 25 meters from the enemy goal, De Bruyne was allowed to prepare for a free kick. The attacking midfielder hit the ball perfectly and left goalkeeper Danny Ward completely without a chance: 0-1. A few minutes later, Leicester could have scored the equalizer. James Maddison served from a corner to Youri Tielemans, who played hard but saw Ederson tap the ball against the crossbar. In the remainder of the game, both teams erupted dangerously several times; however, the score on the scoreboard did not change.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 29 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 28 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 23 |
| 4 | Newcastle United | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 21 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 21 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| 7 | Fulham | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 18 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 16 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 15 |
| 10 | West Ham United | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | -1 | 14 |
| 11 | Brentford | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | -3 | 14 |
| 12 | Everton | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 13 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | -4 | 13 |
| 14 | AFC Bournemouth | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | -15 | 13 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -5 | 12 |
| 16 | Southampton | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -8 | 12 |
| 17 | Leicester City | 13 | 3 | 2 | 8 | -4 | 11 |
| 18 | Leeds United | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -5 | 9 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton W. | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -13 | 9 |
| 20 | Nottingham Forest | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -15 | 9 |