Here’s Brendan Rodgers
“To beat Manchester City, you’ve gotta run like hell – that’s the first thing. You’ve got to have that mentality. I thought our tactical discipline was very good. We condensed the pitch in our half and the, in the right moments, press the game. And then of course because of the counter-press you have to get your passes off quickly, and we know we’ve got speed if we can do that.
“I thought we stayed calm when we went 1-0 down and had the better chances towards half-time. It was a brilliant result and performance. It’s taken me about 13 years to play that way as a manager – I’m obviously very much about being attacking and pressing the game. I’m always positive but I feel like I need to think of other ways to get results in some of these games.
“We didn’t press the goalkeeper, because he’s as good as any centre-half in the league and he takes people out of the game. The plan was to bring the game into our half and make sure we were tight; bring Jamie back to block off one of the midfield players [Rodri]; and then you’ve got to be very good in that transition period to make two or three passes and get round the counter-press. I’m really pleased for the players today.”
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Here’s Jamie Vardy
“We knew we wouldn‘t have much of the ball so we set up to infuriate them a bit, try and keep the likes of Rodri off the ball. Then when we won the ball we wanted to break through their counter-press and get at their defensive line, and today it worked an absolute treat. We weren’t worried [at 1-0 down] because we knew if we stuck to our plan we’d create chances ourselves. We managed to put them all away, so happy days.
“If you’re both running at speed, whoever gets there first is going to be tripped by the player behind, and that’s what happened. I was clipped both times and they were both definite penalties. I couldn’t tell you myself [how I scored the second goal] – I just got something on it and it went over him.
“The injury’s fine. I’ve got a slight issue with a bit of growth in one of the bones, and sometimes it gives me a bit of pain. I’ll be fine for the next game.”
“Okay,” says Gary Naylor, “let’s never allow a pre-season again.”
I’m not sure what we’re actually watching, but it’s thoroughly moreish.
“I can’t see a huge difference in two of those pens given today versus the one turned down for Brighton yesterday,” says Will Morgan. “Thoughts?”
I haven’t had chance to analyse them forensically, but my feeling is that Connolly was penalised (rightly or wrongly) because he moved his leg back towards Pogba and Mr VAR felt he had manufactured the trip. Vardy didn’t quite do that. On reflection, though, I think it was wrong to overturn the on-field decision at Brighton. It wasn’t a clear and obvious error either way, so whatever decision was made on the field should have stood.
Full time: Manchester City 2-5 Leicester City
Football - effing hell. That was another crazy game in this surreal start to the 2020-21 season. Jamie Vardy tore City apart, scoring a memorable hat-trick as Leicester came from a goal down to humiliate Manchester City. He was sensational, just so ruthless when it mattered. I’m still not sure what we’ve just seen, but the scoreline definitely says Manchester City 2-5 Leicester City. Blimey.
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90+3 min Oh, and Leicester are top of the Premier League, having scored 12 goals in their first three games.
90+2 min “Looking forward to tomorrow’s 9-9 draw in the bizarro league,” says Ben Bennett.
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90+1 min Apparently this is the first time a Pep Guardiola team has conceded five in a game.
90 min Four added minutes.
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89 min All three penalties were given away when the attacker was goalside of the defender. That’s the most basic defensive error.
GOAL! Man City 2-5 Leicester (Tielemans 88)
Youri Tielemans sends Ederson the wrong way to complete a jaw-dropping victory. It’s 5-2!
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86 min: A THIRD PENALTY FOR LEICESTER! A brainless tackle from Mendy on Maddison, right at the corner of the area, gives Leicester another penalty.
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86 min “I’m fully expecting one of those bonkers post-match Pep interviews,” says Stephen Carr, “where he claims he’s ‘so, so proud of my players’ after they’ve been battered.”
85 min The hat-trick hero Jamie Vardy is replaced by Kelechi Iheanacho. He’s limping slightly because of that groin injury.
GOAL! Man City 2-4 Leicester (Ake 84)
Sterling’s free-kick hits the wall and goes behind for a corner. Mahrez swings it towards the far post, where Ake gets between defenders and heads firmly into the net.
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83 min Mahrez is fouled just outside the area by Mendy, who is booked.
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81 min De Bruyne hoofs a long-range shot into orbit.
80 min Jonny Evans, who has had a terrific game on his return from suspension, is limping off to be replaced by Christian Fuchs.
79 min Vardy almost gets through on goal again. This is astonishing. For half an hour, Manchester City battered Leicester. Then all last season’s demons started to resurface, and Leicester - Vardy in particular - have been utterly ruthless.
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That was glorious stuff from Maddison. He received the ball in space on the left wing, cut inside and hit a magnificent, booming curler that beat the flying Ederson and nestled in the far corner.
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GOAL! Manchester City 1-4 Leicester City (Maddison 77)
James Maddison scores a quite spectacular goal!
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75 min Walker smashes an angry cross that flies through the six-yard box. City haven’t responded particularly well to going behind. They might end up winning 4-3 and go on to pick up a record 112 points. But right here, right now, it looks like Liverpool are going to win the league at a canter again. They’re miles better than everyone else.
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74 min “Watching Vardy reminds me that part of being a great striker is knowing when to go down and when to keep going when pressed physically,” says Brad Wilson. “ Vardy is a master at that. I am in no way saying he dives — he doesn’t — but he knows how to draw fouls and then he does not miss.”
Yeah, he’s a master at accepting invitations to go down. Whether that’s cheating, I don’t know, but most players do it so I’m not criticising him. He just does it better than most.
73 min Barnes, who has had an excellent game, surges at the heart of the City defence and blasts a shot from the edge of the area. It’s really well struck but too close to Ederson.
70 min Vardy is carrying on for now.
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70 min “It goes against all one’s natural instincts, but Jamie Vardy is as smart a finisher as... well I was getting carried away and thinking Romario, but he’s probably a notch below him,” says Gary Naylor. “So who? Robbie Fowler? Gary Lineker?”
That’s quite a hard comparison to make. Fowler, for example: was he smart, instinctive or both?
69 min James Maddison comes on for Leicester to replace Dennis Praet, who is also struggling with injury.
68 min Sterling, on the stretch, heads De Bruyne’s deep cross over the bar.
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67 min Vardy is holding his groin, and not only because he’s scored a hat-trick. That’s a worry for Leicester, especially as most teams have 12 games in the next two weeks.
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67 min “City, just like their crosstown rivals, are rusty having had less rest and played fewer games in the preseason,” says Digvijay Yadav. “Even so, it is telling how easy it is play through them now.”
66 min Vardy has only touched the ball 15 times in the match. That includes three goals and two touches for the penalties.
65 min Phil Foden is replaced by Ferran Torres.
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64 min: Delap hits the bar! This game isn’t over yet. Mendy dumps a cross into the middle, where Delap towers over the defence to loop a header onto the top of the crossbar. That was a fine effort.
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63 min Walker’s angry long-range shot is well held by the diving Schmeichel.
61 min Vardy has scored nine times (N-I-N-E times) against Pep Guardiola’s City. Nobody else has scored more than five.
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60 min We kind of knew it anyway, but this has confirmed that Brendan Rodgers is a football genius. Meanwhile, Ake is booked for a high tackle on Tielemans.
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It’s Vardy’s second hat-trick against a Pep Guardiola team, which might be a record. That was another softish but probably correct penalty decision: Garcia got the wrong side and tapped the ankle of Vardy, who fell over.
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GOAL! Manchester City 1-3 Leicester City (Vardy 58 pen)
Vardy completes a memorable hat-trick, sidefooting another emphatic penalty into the bottom-right corner!
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PENALTY TO LEICESTER!
57 min Garcia fouls Vardy, who now has the chance to score a hat-trick!
56 min Leicester almost get a third. Praet tees up Barnes, whose cracking long-range shot is pushed behind by the sprawling Ederson.
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Vardy was offside in the first phase of play but he wasn’t active then so the goal will stand. Tielemans played a fine ball down the line to Castagne, who crossed low towards the near post. Vardy got in front of Garcia before flicking the ball behind his front leg and past Ederson. The best part is that he stunned the ball into the ground so that it bounced over the crouching Ederson. If he meant it, that’s an outrageous finish.
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GOAL! Man City 1-2 Leicester (Vardy 54)
Jamie Vardy gives Leicester the lead with a brilliant goal!
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52 min Mahrez shoots just wide from 25 yards after good play from Rodri, who won the ball in a dangerous area. It actually looks like City are playing 4-4-2, with De Bruyne alongside Rodri in midfield and Sterling partnering Delap up front. Pep Guardiola in 4-4-2 shocker.
51 min Liam Delap replaces Fernandinho, which suggests a switch back to 4-1-2-3: Foden and De Bruyne in midfield, Sterling left, Mahrez right and Delap up front.
51 min Amartey is booked for a foul on De Bruyne.
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51 min The 17-year-old Liam Delap is getting ready to come on for his Premier League debut. He scored against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
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50 min Mahrez plays in the underlapping De Bruyne, who wins a corner for City. Mahrez’s inswinger is cleared by Vardy at the near post.
47 min Soyuncu is booked for a late tackle on Rodri.
47 min “Maroon is such a beautiful colour for football kits, but so underused,” says Matt Dony. “Leicester look great, and so did City’s third kit a couple of years ago. I can’t stand Arsenal, but their centenary kit in 2005-06 was one of the most beautiful tops since Wales’ Hummel shirts in the late 80s. Which is surely a high-water mark in football kit design.”
I agree about that Arsenal kit. It’s a shame that one of the first things people associate it with is that penalty fiasco.
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46 min De Bruyne drags a shot wide after 15 seconds of the second half. It was a decent effort from the edge of the area with his left foot, though Schmeichel had it covered.
46 min Peep peep!
Blimey department
Half-time reading
Half time: Manchester City 1-1 Leicester City
Peep peep! That was a funny old half. Manchester City dominated to an almost embarrassing degree for half an hour or so, and took the lead early on with a rasper from Riyad Mahrez. But Leicester started to threaten on the break as the half progressed, and Jamie Vardy earned and then emphatically converted a penalty. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
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45+1 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Stephen Carr. “City’s continuing inability to defend a quick long ball into the channels is baffling innit.”
It is. As Gary Neville has just said on Sky, it’s their inability to stop it at source that compares so unfavourably with the 2017-19 team.
45 min “Great penalty from Vardy following a bit of a trend I spotted when Richarlison scored yesterday,” says Gary Naylor. “Kick the ball hard with a sidefoot and you’re likely to get the lift that gives a diving keeper no chance while mitigating the risk of Waddling it into the stratosphere. Look out for more as I think we’re in for a few more penalties this season.”
44 min This is becoming a good game. Leicester, who were so passive for half an hour, now look menacing on the break.
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42 min Tielemans drives a fine crossfield pass to Barnes, who runs off Fernandinho and into acres of space. He tries to take on the last man Garcia, who does excellently to stay with Barnes and knock the ball off him for a goalkick.
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42 min For all City’s dominance, Kasper Schmeichel hasn’t had any difficult saves to make.
40 min “On the radio John Murray has just announced that Brendan Rodgers clothing is sponsored by what Murray says is the name of an old French magazine,” says Charles Antaki. “The only one I can think of is Paris Match, and I think I remember seeing hoardings for something called Pari-Match, which is presumably a betting company – much less edifying. Can you resolve the mystery?”
39 min I do think that was a soft penalty, not dissimilar to the Pogba/Connolly incident yesterday. One difference is that Walker put hands on Vardy, who accepted the invitation to go down. It could have gone either way really.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Leicester (Vardy 37 pen)
Vardy blasts a spectacular penalty high into the net. Ederson went the right way but couldn’t reach it.
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Barnes went on a good run and played the ball through to Vardy. Walker, who was on the wrong side, put hands on him and Vardy went down.
36 min: PENALTY TO LEICESTER! Walker puts hands on Vardy in the area, and Michael Oliver points to the spot.
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35 min: Rodri has a goal disallowed! It was a good header from another terrific De Bruyne free-kick, but he went too early and was offside.
33 min De Bruyne’s dangerous low cross is cleared inside the six-yard box by Amartey. That was crying out for a near-post run.
32 min “My team Leeds are playing this lot next week,” says Phil Harrison. “And I hope (and expect) that we’ll treat it as a free hit, roll the dice and take our chances. Yes, we might lose 8-0. But we also might lose 6-5! And that would surely be more fun than Leicester’s docile, shell-shocked-before-the-bombardment passivity.”
One way or another, that game wil be spectacular.
29 min Leicester have had more of the ball in the last few minutes, which is to say they’ve had some of the ball.
26 min Leicester get past the City press for the first time. Vardy is almost sent clear by Praet but can’t control the ball on the stretch. It runs across to Justin, whose attempted pass back towards Vardy is cleared. With a bit more composure, he would have put Vardy through on goal.
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26 min Fernandinho misses an excellent chance, heading straight at Schmeichel from De Bruyne’s clipped free-kick. He should have scored
25 min This isn’t a football match, it’s a training session.
22 min Tielemans completes a memorable 10 seconds’ work by being booked for pulling back De Bruyne.
22 min Leicester cross the halfway line and even win a corner. Tielemans plays it back to Justin, who crosses straight into the arms of Ederson. Great stuff lads.
21 min “Surely one does not need a subscription to Opta to work out that playing defensively against City does not work,” says Ian Copestake. “Attacking them does however at least give you a chance.”
Yep. It also gives you a chance of losing 8-0, mind.
20 min I’ve never seen Leicester as passive as this. They look like a lower-league team whose ambition is to only lose 3-0.
19 min “Nicolas Otamendi was routinely critiqued for his defending at City,” says Nick Jones. “He won numerous titles - and his hooked winning goal in Old Trafford in December 2017 was a highlight. Thanks Nico - may the road rise with you.”
17 min Sterling’s shot from a tight angle is comfortably saved by Schmeichel. There was a brilliant bit of escapology in the build-up from De Bruyne, who managed to retain possession despite being on the floor.
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15 min This is so one-sided: City have had 81 per cent of the possession.
13 min Rodri wins the ball off Vardy, 25 yards from goal, and rakes a shot just over the bar. Schmeichel had it covered but it was a good strike.
10 min Fernandinho’s rasping shot from 20 yards is blocked by Mendy. City are totally dominant.
8 min Leicester have barely had a kick in the first eight minutes.
6 min “At a time of crisis you need everyone to stand together,” says Adrian de la Touche. “So if all the Premiership sides agree not to play their next games the handball rule can be amended.”
Pick that out! De Bruyne’s left-wing corner was headed away by Justin towards the right edge of the area, where Mahrez was standing unmarked. He ran onto the ball, waited for it to bounce and just launched it into the far top corner.
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GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Leicester (Mahrez 4)
Riyad Mahrez scores a cracker against his old club - with his right foot.
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3 min It’s unusual to see Brendan Rodgers play so defensively. I suppose he wants to stay in the game for as long as possible. And even with this formation, Jamie Vardy’s pace means Leicester will always carry a threat.
2 min City have started as expected, with Sterling up front. Leicester’s formation is more like 5-4-1 at the moment, with Praet on the right of midfield and Barnes on the left.
1 min Peep peep! City kick off from left to right.
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It’s a pleasant, sunny afternoon at the Etihad. Leicester are in their new maroon away kit, which switches things up with distinct underarm profiling and monochrome crest. The 2020/21 maroon away jersey is available exclusivity with Thailand Smiles with You front-of-shirt branding.
Eric Garcia is wearing protective headgear, as he did against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup. He suffered a nasty injury against Arsenal straight after lockdown, though he didn’t wear any protection when he returned towards the end of last season.
Ah, Harry Kane wasn’t sent off, it was a member of Spurs’ backroom staff.
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Another ludicrous penalty decision has given Newcastle an unlikely point at Spurs. Jose Mourinho walked down the tunnel in a funk before the game had even finished. I suspect his post-match interview will be the most entertaining thing on TV this week. I’d love to see his face when he finds out Harry Kane has reportedly been sent off after the final whistle.
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Pre-match transfer news
It looks like Raheem Sterling will play as a false nine for Manchester City, who are without the injured Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus. Pep Guardiola also persists with having two holding midfielders, a variation of his traditional 4-1-2-3 formation. Either that or Fernandinho is playing with a back three. Pep hasn’t replied to my 48 WhatsApp messages so I can’t say for certain.
Daniel Amartey makes a rare start for Leicester, probably in a back three. Jonny Evans is also back from suspension and it looks like Harvey Barnes will support Jamie Vardy up front. We’ll soon find out.
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Team news
Manchester City (4-2-3-1) Ederson; Walker, Garcia, Ake, Mendy; Fernandinho, Rodri; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Foden; Sterling.
Substitutes: Steffen, Laporte, Zinchenko, Doyle, Palmer, Torres, Delap.
Leicester City (5-4-1) Schmeichel; Castagne, Amartey, Evans, Soyuncu, Justin; Praet, Tielemans, Mendy, Barnes; Vardy.
Substitutes: Ward, Fuchs, Maddison, Albrighton, Choudhury, Iheanacho, Perez.
Referee Michael Oliver.
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Preamble
Hello. Manchester City are under investigation again, though this time it has nowt to do with FFP and Uefa. The current inquiry involves the whole football world looking at their early season performances for signs as to which City will turn up this season: the record-breaking monsters of 2017-19 or the soft-centred let-down that couldn’t take Liverpool’s heat last season.
The signs in their 3-1 win at Wolves on Monday were encouraging, especially in the first half, and today they have another good test against Leicester City at the Etihad. Leicester’s recovery from last season’s anti-climax has started with two comfortable wins over West Brom and Burnley. Those games, in truth, didn’t really tell us anything we don’t already know. We should learn a lot more today - about both teams.
Kick off 4.30pm
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