MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - MANCHESTER CITY 3-1 LEICESTER CITY

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Manchester City were victorious against relegation fighting Leicester City, as a phenomenal start from the Blues helped them to run out as 3-1 winners.

A rotated City side get off to a flying start, after a placed left footed volley from John Stones went flying past keeper Daniel Iversen from the edge of the box.

After a VAR check following a Jack Grealish cross that appeared to hit the hand of Wilfried Ndidi, City were awarded a penalty. Talisman Erling Haaland continued his 100% record from the spot to double City's lead, with an accurate shot low in the bottom right corner.

Haaland bagged his second on the 25 minute mark, pouncing on a Kevin de Bruyne through ball to clip it past the keeper, to score his 47th goal of the season in all competitions, and equal Mohammed Salah's Premier League scoring record with his 32nd goal of the season.

With their upcoming trip to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night, Guardiola decided to make substitutions, with Julian Alvarez and Manuel Akanji coming on a half-time, with Kalvin Phillips, Cole Palmer and Sergio Gomez coming on shortly after.

The more players that came on for City, the worse they got, as they lost a lot of the control and sheer dominance that they had in the first half. Former City player Kelechi Iheanacho, who impressed coming on as a half time substitute, pulled a goal back for Leicester that felt like it was coming, as Ederson's save from an initial Harry Souttar headed bounced of Phillips, giving Iheanacho the simplest of tap ins.

Leicester could easily have nicked a point, as James Maddison was denied in a 1 vs 1 with a good save from Ederson, and Iheanacho came agonisingly close with a shot that hit the inside of the post in injury time.

If you'd offered any City fan a 3-1 victory, which saw a period of rest of at least 20 minutes for Nathan Ake, Grealish, Haaland, Stones, Akanji, De Bruyne, Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan, then they would have taken that as an excellent result.

Here are the player ratings for the victory over the Foxes:

Ederson - 7.5/10 - Didn't have much to do for the first 70 minutes or so. After that, he was very unlucky with the goal, and did brilliantly to deny Maddison. His performance today won the game for City, and proves why he's the right man for City between the sticks.

Walker - 6.5/10 - Showed off his natural pace a few times when tracking back. Walker played high and wide on the right hand side, but, other than running in behind, he didn't offer a lot going forwards.

Stones - 8.5/10 - On current form, "The Barnsley Beckanbauer" may well be the best centre back in the world. He has absolutely everything to his game, looking strong defensively and confident in possession as always. On top of that, he scored a fantastic volley from the edge of the box, scoring his first goal of the season.

Dias - 7/10 - A mixed performance from Dias. He made a fantastic trademark block from Maddison in the first half, but also had to be bailed on by Ederson after giving the ball away for the Maddison 1 vs 1. He organised the defence well, however, and was one of a few players who stayed on that'll definitely start against Bayern, which shows his levels of stamina and fitness that are key to City's success.

Laporte - 7/10 - Laporte looked understandably rusty, often taking a second or two too long in possession, which slowed moves down. He did, however, manage his flank well, and looked dominant in the air, in a rare appearance for the 28 year old Spaniard.

Rodri - 7/10 - It was very refreshing to see such an excellent performance from Rodri, who must be exhausted after playing every single game for City. He did all his usual skills well, and thoroughly deserved a rest at the end of the game.

De Bruyne - 7.5/10 - Another good game for City' Belgian midfielder. De Bruyne had limited space, but made good use of what he did have. He linked up well with Bernardo and Grealish on the left, and his assist from Haaland came from a trademark burst through midfield. He will have an important role to play on Wednesday night in Munich.

Bernardo - 6.5/10 - Offered a lot of running, as usual, and made a few excellent underlapping runs on the left hand side. Bernardo was playing a confused role today, much deeper than usual, and was much quieter than he usually is.

Mahrez - 6.5/10 - Playing in a narrower role today, to compensate for Walker's positioning out wide, Mahrez had a quiet game against his former club. He came close with a powerful strike from the edge of the box, but it now seems unlikely that he'll start against Bayern Munich over Bernardo Silva.

Haaland - 8/10 - It seems perhaps harsh to rate Haaland at only an 8/10, considering he scored two goals, but there are 2 reasons for this. One is that he was subbed at half time, otherwise he'd have almost certainly scored a hattrick. Another is that Haaland had one of his quieter games, as Leicester's low block and 3 centre back system limited the amount of space he had. When it did come up for him, however, he took full advantage, with a goal that we thought we'd see a lot more of than we've actually seen, chasing down a De Bruyne through ball to finish past the keeper.

Grealish - 7/10 - Another solid performance for the England international today. Grealish maintained his width well, causing Timothy Castagne problems, and kept the ball well as always. His highlight was a positive charge midway through the second half, winning a free kick at the end of it, which is exactly what we saw from him at Villa, and what we're seeing from him now at City.

Substitutes:

Alvarez - 6/10 - Offered running and pace up front, but not a whole lot else, as City were less dominant in the second half.

Akanji - 6.5/10 - Looked composed in possession, and generally looked solid defensively.

Phillips - 5.5/10 - It feels like Phillips is being unfairly scapegoated. True, he looked quite sloppy in possession, and he often appeared to just be ambling around the pitch, unlike Rodri, who always makes himself available for a pass. But City players always improve in their second season, and we should give him time, as we did to Grealish, Cancelo, Bernardo, Mahrez and Rodri, all of whom endured difficult first campaigns. However, considering some journalists are considering his future as dubious, it goes on to wonder just how out of his depth he may be, and how any potential improvement may be down to hard work that may well be lacking. It'll interesting to see if he's still a City player this time next season.

Palmer - 6/10 - Against the popular opinion, I think Palmer had a good game when he came on, looking silky and composed in central midfield. He's probably not up to the same level as City's other midfield players, however, and a loan move could be a serious option for next season.

Gomez - 5.5/10 - He didn't do a whole lot wrong, although he certainly didn't do that much right either. City's performance weakened when he came on as it did with the other substitutes, and Gomez is another player who could find himself out on loan next season.