Savinho and Erling Haaland scored the goals as Manchester City got back to winning ways in the Premier League with a 2-0 victory at Leicester City.

In Pep Guardiola’s 500th game in charge of the club, the visitors stuttered and staggered for much of Sunday’s contest, but ultimately got over the line at the King Power Stadium. 

Savinho arrowed in his first goal for the club in the 21st minute, before turning provider for Haaland to head in a decisive second with 16 minutes remaining.

Leicester had their chances against a vulnerable-looking Man City defence, with Jamie Vardy slicing over from their best opportunity, and their profligacy was punished. 

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s team stay 18th in the table, while Guardiola's men moved to within four points of fourth-placed Chelsea, who face Ipswich Town on Monday.

How the match unfolded

After Haaland had a close-range shot saved by Jakub Stolarczyk, Leicester wanted a penalty when Stefan Ortega clattered into Vardy, though the Foxes striker was flagged offside, with the VAR confirming the decision.

But after thwarting Haaland earlier on, Stolarczyk should have done better when parrying Phil Foden’s shot. Instead, he palmed the ball out kindly for the onrushing Savinho, who lashed the loose ball into the net.

Haaland drilled just wide at the culmination of a fantastic run, and Leicester almost punished City for that miss when Facundo Buonanotte capitalised on slack marking to head towards goal, only to hit a post.

Manuel Akanji cleared off the line from James Justin in the 62nd minute, yet the clearest chance of the match fell to Vardy soon after, as he failed to divert a close-range volley under the bar.

City made their luck count as substitute James McAtee did well to cut inside from the right and link with Kevin De Bruyne, who switched the play out to Savinho. The Brazilian then crossed in for Haaland to head home from the visitors’ first attempt of the second half.

Man City unconvincing, but get the job done

Guardiola may have marked his milestone Man City match with a victory, but his team’s performance will have done little to allay fears over their form.

The away fans sarcastically chanted "City are staying up" to the tune of "Three Lions" after Savinho’s goal, but for much of this encounter, it was the relegation-battling Foxes who were on top.

There were flashes of Man City excellence. Haaland embarked on an impressive run before he dragged wide midway through the first half, while the Norwegian also headed at Stolarczyk after great work from Bernardo Silva down the left flank.

Indeed, the visitors' goals came from two real moments of quality, both provided by Savinho. First, the Brazilian finished brilliantly from a tight angle to break the deadlock, before he supplied the left-footed cross from which Haaland made sure of the points.

In years gone by, a Man City opener against one of the teams struggling down at the bottom would likely have resulted in Guardiola’s team putting their foot on the pedal.

Instead, they rather laboured to a much-needed win – just their second victory in 14 games across all competitions – though getting that triumph on the board likely mattered more for Guardiola than the nature of the performance.

Leicester left to rue missed chances

The Foxes have now lost four straight league matches, but matters might have been so different had they just been able to take their opportunities when they came.

It is no exaggeration to say Leicester looked more like the team competing at the top end of the table for much of the game, yet they just lacked the cutting edge required.

Vardy’s miss shortly before Haaland made it 2-0 will go down as the standout opportunity squandered, but the Foxes created plenty of other openings.

There was a teasing ball flashed across the face of goal by Bilal El Khannouss in the 33rd minute, before static Man City defending allowed Buonanotte a free header following a bit of pinball in the visitors’ area – the woodwork left rattled on that occasion.

Referee Michael Oliver fairly dismissed Leicester’s penalty appeals after Buonanotte took a tumble under pressure from Nathan Ake in a promising opening shortly after the break, and Akanji had to be in the right place to scoop Justin’s attempt clear off the line soon after.

Vardy had Ortega scrambling late on with a header that clipped the crossbar, but Leicester got nothing for all their endeavour. With a tough trip to Aston Villa coming up next, Van Nistelrooy needs to find a way to change the record.

Club reports

Leicester report | Man City report

Match officials

Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Neil Davies. Fourth official: Bobby Madley. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis.