City marked Guardiola's milestone with a win and a goal from Erling Haaland — things that the Spaniard used to take for granted, but have been increasingly rare of late for the struggling four-time defending English Premier League champions.
Savinho also netted his first goal for the club in a much-needed 2-0 win over Leicester, although the team still looked far from the juggernaut that has dominated English football for much of the Spaniard’s reign.
Leicester had several chances for an equaliser, before Savinho set up Haaland for the second in the 74th, as City ended a five-game winless run in all competitions.
It was far from a vintage City performance, but perhaps it could mark the start of a turnaround for a team that are enduring the worst run of results in Guardiola’s nine years at the helm.
Guardiola was visibly relieved, as he walked onto the pitch to hug his players and applaud the away fans, after taking his tally to 362 wins in his 500 games — along with 18 trophies.
"Just relief, that is the word to express how all of us feel," he said. "It was not the ideal performance, but hopefully, the victories will give our mood a better position.
"Hopefully, in the new year, we can bounce back a bit from a bad moment."
This was only the club's second win in 14 games in all competitions and the team are 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, after playing two games more.
The win still left City 14 points behind Liverpool, after the leaders trounced West Ham 5-0 away.
Even against a team mired in the relegation zone, City were pegged back for much of the second half, until Haaland's header ended Leicester's resistance.
Savinho put the team ahead in the 21st minute by pouncing on the rebound, after Phil Foden drove forward and tried a low shot from distance that Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk pushed to the side. The ball fell into the path of the onrushing Savinho, who lifted it over the goalkeeper and into the net.
The winger then turned provider by lifting a perfect cross into the box for Haaland to head home the second, shortly after Jamie Vardy had missed a good chance for a Leicester equaliser.
Source: 1 News
BDST: 1106 HRS, DEC 30, 2024
MN
