Premier League
Man CityManchester City1LeicesterLeicester City3

Manchester City 1-3 Leicester City

By Chris BevanBBC Sport
Robert Huth's early strike for Leicester was his second goal of the season
Robert Huth's early strike for Leicester was his second goal of the season

Premier League leaders Leicester stunned nearest rivals Manchester City with a convincing victory at Etihad Stadium to move five points clear.

Robert Huth met Riyad Mahrez's free-kick to give the Foxes an early lead.

City rarely looked like breaking down the visitors' defence, while their own back line appeared vulnerable.

Mahrez made it 2-0 with a step-over and finish, and Huth found space to head home a Christian Fuchs corner before Sergio Aguero's late consolation.

Follow all the reaction to this match and Saturday's other games

Foxes continue fine away form

Leicester had already beaten third-placed Tottenham at White Hart Lane in January but this resounding result against Manchester City was their most significant in a remarkable season.

The Foxes have now picked up 28 points on their travels and, although they were denied a sixth clean sheet in their past seven matches, this was another win earned by their solid defence.

N'Golo Kante vs Man City
The left-hand graphic shows N'Golo Kante's defensive work - he made more tackles (green triangles), interceptions (blue triangles), clearances (purple), and possession recoveries (yellow) than any other Leicester player. But Kante also got forward too - the right-hand graphic shows how half of his 68 touches were in the Manchester City half, and he was also part of the move that led to Leicester's second goal

Aguero's glancing header from teenage substitute Bersant Celina's cross meant Manchester City retained their record of only failing to score once at home this season, but they had toiled in front of goal for much of the match.

Claudio Ranieri's side travel to fourth-placed Arsenal next weekend - win there too, and people might be asking 'who can catch Leicester?' rather than 'can the Foxes really win the title?'.

Manchester City's defence again at fault

While Leicester's defence was a solid and well-organised unit, given further protection by N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater in central midfield, Manchester City looked nervy whenever the visitors came forward.

Martin Demichelis was left flat-footed by Robert Huth for Leicester's first goal and was beaten with ease by Mahrez for their second, while Huth was completely unmarked when he made it 3-0.

Things could easily have been even worse for home boss Manuel Pellegrini in his first game at the Etihad since it was announced Pep Guardiola would be replacing him in the summer.

Leicester's Jamie Vardy twice broke clear to latch on to balls over the top and was only prevented from inflicting further damage by smart blocks by Joe Hart.

Man of the match - Leicester's Robert Huth

Leicester defender Robert Huth celebrates his second goal
Robert Huth is not known for his goalscoring exploits - before Saturday he had only scored 24 goals in more than 300 appearances in English football - but as well as marshalling his own defence superbly, he was in the right place at the right time at the other end on two occasions on Saturday

'Nothing is finished' - Pellegrini

No complaints after Foxes loss - Pellegrini

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini said he had "no complaints" about the result but insists his side's hopes of winning the title are not over.

Pellegrini told BBC Sport: "Leicester played better than us. Conceding a goal from a set piece after two minutes was very important for the game.

"We had chances but it was a difficult game. I expected more from the beginning because it was very important, we are at home and playing top of the table, but we couldn't do it.

"There are 36 points to play for, nothing is finished. It is important for us to recover our players and I am continuing to not give up because we got an unexpected defeat but we must continue."

'We play without pressure' - Ranieri

Foxes play without pressure - Ranieri

Ranieri saluted his side's defensive discipline at the final whistle, telling BBC Sport: "We played very, very compact and believed everything could be possible.

"We play without pressure because we don't have to win the league. We must enjoy. This league is so strange and now it is important to think about Arsenal.

"I want to wait until the end of April because I know the last matches are very tough. This is a fantastic moment for the Premier League, nobody knows who can win it."

What next?

While Leicester head for the Emirates and another test of their title mettle, Manchester City must pick themselves up for the visit of another in-form team, Tottenham, before starting a run of fixtures that sees them play in the FA Cup, Champions League and the Capital One Cup final in the space of a week.

BBC Radio 5 live In Short: Leicester City: Champions League to Championship?

The stats you need to know

  • Robert Huth has scored more goals in his last five Premier League appearances (3) as he had in his previous 86 in the competition (2).
  • This was only the second time in his Premier League career that he's scored more than once in a game, with the German last scoring two in February 2011 for Stoke v Sunderland.
  • Riyad Mahrez (14 goals, 10 assists) became the first player to reach double figures in terms of both goals and assists in the Premier League this season.
  • Mahrez ended a personal Premier League goal drought of 11 hours and two minutes with his strike in this match.
  • Manchester City have not beaten any side currently in the top six of the league this season (W0 D3 L4).
  • Manchester City have lost as many league home games this season (3) as they had in 2014-15 and 2013-14 combined under Manuel Pellegrini (3).
  • Leicester City have lost just one of their last 16 league away games (W10 D5 L1).

Line-ups

Man City

Formation 4-4-2

  • 1Hart
  • 5ZabaletaBooked at 69mins
  • 30Otamendi
  • 26Demichelis
  • 11Kolarov
  • 21SilvaSubstituted forCelinaat 77'minutes
  • 42Y TouréSubstituted forRegesat 52'minutesBooked at 72mins
  • 25Fernandinho
  • 18DelphSubstituted forIheanachoat 52'minutes
  • 7Sterling
  • 10Agüero

Substitutes

  • 3Sagna
  • 6Reges
  • 13Caballero
  • 22Clichy
  • 59Celina
  • 72Iheanacho
  • 75García

Leicester

Formation 4-4-2

  • 1Schmeichel
  • 17SimpsonBooked at 46mins
  • 5MorganBooked at 36mins
  • 6Huth
  • 28Fuchs
  • 26MahrezSubstituted forGrayat 77'minutes
  • 4Drinkwater
  • 14Kanté
  • 11AlbrightonSubstituted forDyerat 86'minutes
  • 20OkazakiSubstituted forUlloaat 81'minutes
  • 9Vardy

Substitutes

  • 10King
  • 22Gray
  • 23Ulloa
  • 24Dyer
  • 27Wasilewski
  • 30Chilwell
  • 32Schwarzer
Referee:
Anthony Taylor
Attendance:
54,693

Match Stats

Home TeamMan CityAway TeamLeicester
Possession
Home66%
Away34%
Shots
Home22
Away14
Shots on Target
Home4
Away7
Corners
Home11
Away4
Fouls
Home9
Away15

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Manchester City 1, Leicester City 3.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Manchester City 1, Leicester City 3.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Martín Demichelis (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Bersant Celina with a cross following a corner.

  4. Post update

    Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Robert Huth.

  5. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Kelechi Iheanacho.

  6. Post update

    Attempt missed. Fernandinho (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.

  7. Post update

    Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Nathan Dyer (Leicester City).

  9. Post update

    Attempt missed. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left misses to the left.

  10. Post update

    Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Post update

    Foul by Nathan Dyer (Leicester City).

  12. Goal!

    Goal! Manchester City 1, Leicester City 3. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Bersant Celina with a cross following a corner.

  13. Post update

    Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Kasper Schmeichel.

  14. Substitution

    Substitution, Leicester City. Nathan Dyer replaces Marc Albrighton.

  15. Post update

    Attempt missed. Daniel Drinkwater (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.

  16. Post update

    Corner, Leicester City. Conceded by Nicolás Otamendi.

  17. Post update

    Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  18. Post update

    Foul by Leonardo Ulloa (Leicester City).

  19. Substitution

    Substitution, Leicester City. Leonardo Ulloa replaces Shinji Okazaki.

  20. Post update

    Attempt missed. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Marc Albrighton.

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Leicester25158247272053
2Tottenham25139345192648
3Man City25145647262147
4Arsenal24136537221545
5Man Utd24117631211040
6West Ham2510963829939
7Southampton2510783324937
8Everton25811646341235
9Liverpool259883236-435
10Watford2596102727033
11Stoke2596102431-733
12Crystal Palace2595112630-432
13Chelsea247893234-229
14West Brom2578102332-929
15Bournemouth2477102939-1028
16Swansea2569102433-927
17Newcastle2566132644-1824
18Norwich2565142848-2023
19Sunderland2555153049-1920
20Aston Villa2537152040-2016
View full Premier League table

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