Jack Grealish immense as Jeremy Doku flops – Man City ratings v Leicester City
Pep Guardiola watched on from the stands as his Man City side secured a simple 2-0 win over Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Jack Grealish put 16 months of desperation and disappointment behind him, firing home the opener after just two minutes, and wheeled away with a massive grin on his face on Wednesday, 2 March.
Omar Marmoush followed shortly behind, capitalising on a huge mistake from Mads Hermansen, who dropped the ball in front of the Egyptian, leaving him to smash into an open net.
With City holding the majority of possession, it was unlikely that the Foxes were going to get back into the game, with Ruud van Nistelrooy under tremendous pressure at Leicester.
Chelsea have now dropped out of the top-four spots in the Premier League, with the Citizens moving into the vacant spot, with Champions League football on the line ahead of next season.
Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias calm in defence
Ederson – 6
Barely anything for the Brazilian to do during the 90 minutes, making a couple of punches but rarely involved in the action.
Matheus Nunes – 7
One of his better displays at right-back, but given the game was against the Foxes, it would have been disappointing to see him struggle against the likes of Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka.
Ruben Dias – 7
A calm, controlled performance from the veteran centre-back, giving Van Nistelrooy’s side absolutely no chance of walking away from the Etihad with anything other than a defeat.
Josko Gvardiol (Off for Vitor Reis 90+1′) – 8
Rarely put a single foot wrong during the clash, only seeing one of his passes go wayward. Whether he’s playing at centre-back or full-back, he looks an absolute natural and will be at City for a while.
Nico O’Reilly – 7
After a brace and two assists in back-to-back FA Cup displays, it would have been difficult for the youngster to live up to expectations, but it was a rather comfortable game for the full-back.
Man City attack steal the show against Leicester City
Nico Gonzalez – 7
Could have been a far higher score for the Spaniard, who is attempting to fill Rodri‘s boots for Guardiola, but having picked up a late yellow card, he was knocked down a ranking.
Ilkay Gundogan (Off for Rico Lewis 90+1′) – 6
A calm figure in the centre of the pitch, but offered few special moments, apart from delivering a below-par cross that forced a mistake from Hermansen, which Marmoush punished.
Savinho (Off for Oscar Bobb 85′) – 7
Continued to rampage down the right flank, creating chances at every opportunity, dribbling past his opponents, and was awarded for his hard work with an assist for Grealish’s opener.
Jack Grealish silences doubters as 16-month league drought ends
Jack Grealish – 9 – Man of the Match
After being ripped to shreds by Paul Merson pre-match, Grealish fired Man City into an early lead and was a nuisance in the attacking-midfield role all night.
Jeremy Doku (Off for James McAtee 78′) – 5
While his trickery caused problems down the left flank continuously, his inaccurate crosses left City wanting more than just a 2-0 win over one of the relegation-bound sides.
Omar Marmoush – 8
With Erling Haaland missing long-term for Man City, the Egyptian announced himself as the solution and pounced on a terrible goalkeeper mistake to double his side’s lead.
Substitutes
James McAtee (On for Doku 78′) – 6
Caused a threat straight after coming on, pulling a shot wide and combining well with his teammates.
Oscar Bobb (On for Savinho 85′) – N/A
Vitor Reis (On for Gvardiol 90+1′) – N/A
Rico Lewis (On for Gundogan 90+1′) – N/A