City finally end horror run - but bigger worries remain

It was a landmark occasion for Pep Guardiola. Not because he took charge of Manchester City for the 500th time, joining only Les McDowall in a select club, but because a manager who was a byword for winning actually won a game. For a manager with 39 trophies in his career, such results seemed routine.

- RICHARD JOLLY

Not any more. After nine defeats in 13 games, there was relief and respite, the rarity of victory. “I never thought it was so difficult to win one single game,” said Guardiola, after his side made hard work of a 2-0 triumph over Leicester City. “The right word, more than happiness, is relief.”

It felt so seismic that, led by Bernardo Silva, many of their players threw their shirts into the crowd. It was a win with a difference: this was not the way they used to come. City were nervous and anxious, almost powerless. Guardiola took the passing game to new levels but relegation-threatened Leicester had more possession. City relied on the woodwork, the offside flag, and a goal-line clearance.

“Today the coin came [down for us],” said Guardiola. Until Erling Haaland scored, they barely had a threat in the second half; much of it was spent camped in their half, penned back by a side who were in the Championship last season. There was scant evidence a corner was turned. “The best of us will come back,” said Guardiola. It was rarely seen at the King Power Stadium. But, for only the second time in two months, they triumphed.

“Today it helps to clean our minds and souls,” added Guardiola, seeking to banish the previous 13 matches, if not his first 486. “It’s lot of games, I could not expect when I landed in this country,” he said. “The month and a half to two months that feels like 500 months, will make you realise how nice it was.”