On the morning of December 30th, Beijing time, the first match of the 19th round of the Premier League took place, with last season's English Championship winner Leicester City hosting last season's Premier League champion Manchester City at home. In the 21st minute, Savigno scored a rebound to score his first goal for Manchester City. In the 40th minute, Bunarnot's header hit the post. In the 74th minute, Savigno completed a pass and shot, and Haaland broke his four-game goal drought.
In the end, Manchester City defeated Leicester City 2-0 away from home, ending their four-game winless streak in the league. This was also the second victory in the last 14 games in all competitions for Manchester City, and their first away win in nine games. After this game, Manchester City temporarily surpassed Newcastle and Bournemouth, who have not played this round, to reach fifth place.
This game was also Guardiola's 500th match as manager of Manchester City, marking a milestone.
In the 10th minute, Vardy cleverly positioned himself to form a one-on-one situation, and Otamendi rushed out to tackle him directly, knocking Vardy down. Normally, Otamendi should have received a red card, and Leicester City would have been awarded a penalty, but Vardy was offside when he received the ball, allowing Manchester City to escape a disaster.
In the 19th minute, Gvardiol headed back, almost turning it into an own goal assist, but Vardy's subsequent shot from a tight angle was saved by Otamendi with great effort.
In the 21st minute, Lewis passed the ball without stopping, and Foden's long-range shot from outside the penalty area produced a rebound that the goalkeeper could not save, allowing Savigno to score on the rebound.
In his 24th game since joining the "Blue Moon," Savigno finally scored his first goal for Manchester City.
In the 35th minute, Kovacic intercepted the ball in the center circle, but Haaland chose not to pass and instead dribbled past several players before his shot went slightly wide.
In the 40th minute, Manchester City failed to clear the ball from within their penalty area, and Bunarnot's header hit the post with Otamendi showing no reaction as the ball bounced out.
In the 62nd minute, facing Leicester City's free-kick, Manchester City's players were unable to compete for the ball, but at a critical moment, Akangji made a goal-line clearance.
In the 68th minute, Mavididi's cross just cleared Ake's head, and Vardy's follow-up shot saw him rush into the net, but the ball went high.
In the 74th minute, substitute McTie initiated the attack, De Bruyne passed the ball to the right, Savigno crossed, and Haaland scored with a header.
[Exciting Moments]
In the 5th minute, De Bruyne took a long-range shot from a familiar position in front of the penalty area, but the ball was hit too high, clearly below his usual standard.
In the 8th minute, Lewis delivered an accurate long pass, De Bruyne crossed without stopping, and Haaland swept the ball, but the substitute goalkeeper for Leicester City, Storlachik, reacted quickly and used his foot to block the ball.
In the 28th minute, B seat crossed near the baseline, and Haaland's header near the penalty spot hit the target, but it did not pose a threat.
[Player Ratings]
[Lineups]
Manchester City starting lineup: 18-Otamendi, 6-Ake (69' 2-Walker), 24-Gvardiol, 25-Akangji, 82-Lewis, 8-Kovacic, 17-De Bruyne, 20-B seat, 47-Foden (66' 87-McTie), 26-Savigno, 9-Haaland.
Manchester City substitutes: 33-Carson, 66-Simpson-Pu, 10-Grealish, 19-Gundogan, 75-O'Reilly, 11-Doku, 67-Mbama.
Leicester City starting lineup: 41-Storlachik, 2-Justin (69' 17-Joduri), 4-Cody, 23-Westergaard, 16-Christiansen, 8-Winks, 24-Soumare, 10-Mavididi, 11-Erhannus, 40-Bunarnot, 9-Vardy.
Leicester City substitutes: 31-Iversen, 5-Okoji, 57-Wilson-Brown, 33-Luke Thomas, 22-Skip, 37-Will Alves, 14-Bobby Reed, 20-Daka.