Manchester City defeated Leicester City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium on December 29, 2024. Savinho scored in the 21st minute, capitalising on a goalie error, and Erling Haaland clinched the victory with a header from Savinho’s cross in the 74th minute. Leicester rallied back, hitting the woodwork twice and wasting many important opportunities, but their inability to finish proved costly in the end. The victory propelled City into the top five, but Leicester remained in the relegation zone following their fourth consecutive loss.

Guardiola says Man City has ‘no chance’ of winning Premier League despite win in 500th game

Even after marking his 500th game in charge of Manchester City with a much-needed victory, Pep Guardiola insisted his team has “no chance” of winning a fifth straight Premier League title.

Guardiola looked visibly relieved after City ended a five-game winless run in all competitions by beating Leicester 2-0 on Sunday, only a second victory in 14 matches after the worst stretch of results in the Spanish manager’s illustrious career.

The win still left City 14 points behind Liverpool after the leaders trounced West Ham 5-0 away, with Arne Slot’s team also having a game in hand. So after winning an unprecedented four straight Premier League titles, Guardiola has already written off his team’s chances before reaching January.

Just winning a game is a battle for City these days.

A team that used to easily beat teams like relegation-threatened Leicester by three or four goals found itself pegged back for much of the game despite Savinho’s 21st-minute opener, and the hosts missed several good chances to equalize before Erling Haaland headed home City’s second in the 74th.

For the first time in a while, Guardiola had a genuine smile on his face as he walked onto the pitch after the final whistle to hug his players and applaud the fans after taking his tally to 362 wins in his 500 games — along with 18 trophies.

(AP)