Manchester City’s title defence is hanging by a thread after a laboured 2-0 win over struggling Leicester marked their second victory in 10 Premier League games.
Pep Guardiola celebrated his 500th game in charge of the Blues with a nervy victory at the King Power Stadium, but it did little to ease the pressure on his team.
They remain in fifth place, a whopping 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, who can take control of the league with a win at West Ham later on Sunday.
Guardiola had vowed not to give up on his team’s season, but it’s clear they need to find some confidence quickly. They were made to work hard for this win, with Jamie Vardy twice going close and Facundo Buonanotte hitting the post for the Foxes.
The hosts are now in freefall, with four straight defeats and five in seven games since Steve Cooper was sacked in November. They are staring relegation in the face, and it’s hard to see how they can turn things around.
City’s Savinho opened the scoring with his first goal for the club in the 21st minute, firing high from six yards after Jakub Stolarczyk had denied Erling Haaland early on. Phil Foden’s shot was parried by Stolarczyk, and Savinho made no mistake from close range.
Leicester sensed they could get back into the game and James Justin came close to a leveller, but Manuel Akanji hacked clear. Vardy then had a chance to level from six yards, but he fired over.
Haaland ended any hopes of a comeback with 16 minutes left, heading in Savinho’s cross to seal the win for City.
