Leicester City were unlucky as Manchester City narrowly beat them in a night where VAR once again became the talking point.
In hindsight, however, the defending champions were the better side throughout the game and probably deserved the victory. But, VAR’s decision to award Manchester City a penalty for Dennis Praet’s handball seemed rather bizarre as it did not offer Leicester City the same when Kevin de Bruyne was involved in a similar situation in the first half.
Nevertheless, it was a late goal from Gabriel Jesus that made all the difference as Man City continue to build a substantial lead over the Foxes in the league table.
Here are the Leicester City players rated in their defeat to the Citizens.
Kasper Schmeichel 9
Made a host of excellent saves to prevent Manchester City from finding the back of the net. Although the efforts were relatively straightforward, the Dane stepped up to the plate whenever it was required. While he couldn’t have done anything to save Jesus’ shot for the opener, it was his save from the Sergio Aguero penalty that made him one of the best performers this evening.
Caglar Soyuncu 8
Another solid defensive display from the Turkish international, who is indeed a reliable presence in the backline for Leicester. He rarely offered any freedom to Bernardo Silva on the far side.
Jonny Evans 8.5
Did an excellent job of keeping tabs on Aguero, who barely managed to involve himself in the action. The ex-Manchester United man also dominated the aerial balls and prevented Manchester City from dominating the final third.
Christian Fuchs 7.5
A reliable presence alongside Soyuncu and Evans, Fuchs mopped up a few loose balls even though he was identified as the weak link in the Leicester City defence.
Ricardo Pereira 8
Ricardo Pereira should have done a lot better with his touch in the counter-attack, which gave Leicester City an excellent opportunity of finding the back of the net. However, the Portuguese showed a lot of discipline in defence and kept a check on Bernardo and Benjamin Mendy on the far side.
Youri Tielemans 7
Tielemans was an integral part of the Leicester press in the middle third of the pitch. His ability to create turnovers led to so many counter-attacks and the Belgian still had the stamina to fight on till the very end. However, he certainly needs to work on his pace while he also appeared sloppy with the ball. Not the best of performances from the ex-Anderlecht star.
Dennis Praet 7.5
Praet offered support to Tielemans during defensive phases. He also looked comfortable on the ball but ended up conceding the penalty in the second half. However, the Belgian might have been unlucky as VAR contradicted itself by not awarding Leicester a penalty in the first half when Kevin de Bruyne handled the ball.
James Maddison 7.5
Maddison was a live wire for Leicester going forward. He looked menacing whenever he had the ball and his ability to find key passes in the final third caused a lot of problems for the Manchester City backline. Did lack concentration, at times, though.
Ben Chilwell 7
Provided constant support in the build-up, rotating possession and threading in forward balls to Jamie Vardy. But, the Englishman looked off-colour today, often lacking concentration with the ball at his feet. He might have also done a little better defensively.
Kelechi Iheanacho 6.5
Iheanacho’s positioning was questionable at times in the first half. The Nigerian was then rather unfortunate as he clashed heads with Ederson that eventually led to his substitution.
Jamie Vardy 7
It was simply not the night for Vardy. The Englishman did get himself into excellent positions but was either unlucky or lacked proper support from his teammates. Not to mention, he missed arguably the best chance Leicester City had in this game.
SUBSTITUTES
Harvey Barnes 6
Replaced the injured Iheanacho in the second half but failed to make the desired impact apart from making a few runs out wide. A rather disappointing display from the youngster.
Matty James N/A
Replaced Praet in the 85th minute in what was a rather bizarre decision from Brendan Rodgers.
Ayoze Perez N/A
A late replacement for Fuchs even though he should have been brought on much earlier.
