Football Features

Mahrez puts in masterclass: Full player ratings as Man City tighten grip on second with Leicester win

By Muhammad Butt

Published: 19:40, 22 February 2020

In a pulsating evening of football, Manchester City beat Leicester City 1-0 at the King Power stadium.

The win puts Man City seven points clear of the Foxes, tightening their grip on second place.

Here’s how the players rated at the King Power Stadium:

Leicester

Kasper Schmeichel – 8 – An impressive display from the big Dane. Stopped a Sergio Aguero penalty dead in its tracks to momentarily preserve his clean sheet. Could do nothing about the goal.

Caglar Soyuncu – 7 – A dynamo in defence. Constantly getting in De Bruyne’s business and making covering runs too.

Jonny Evans – 7 – A colossal display as he put himself in the way time and time again, making a game-high 9 clearances.

Christian Fuchs – 4 – Handled himself fairly well for damn-near 80 minutes but was always outmatched by Mahrez and in the end got caught out by the Algerian slipping in Gabriel Jesus for Man City’s winner.

Ricardo Pereira – 7 – Tore Mendy to bits. A constant rampaging presence in attack he created more chances than and made more tackles than any other Leicester player.

Dennis Praet – 4 – Patrolled the defensive midfield area fairly well, making three interceptions, but he’s no Ndidi. Couldn’t close Mahrez down on City’s goal and conceded a penalty, too.

Youri Tielemans – 5 – Lovely pass to put Vardy through with eight minutes gone. Looked really bright in the first half but faded in the second, completely left in the dust by Mahrez for Jesus’ goal.

James Maddison – 7 – Performed well in the middle of the pitch.

Ben Chilwell – 7 – An absolute dynamo up and down the left-flank.

Kelechi Iheanacho – 7 – Really good movement. Always getting involved and linking play. Got smashed in the head by Ederson when challenging for an aerial ball but carried on playing until the half, when he was removed.

Jamie Vardy – 4 – Exceptional movement for which obviously deserves praise but the deciding factor in the match was his poor finishing and final ball. He hit the post when put clean through after eight minutes. In a game where Leicester were going to need to be clinical, Vardy’s scoreless streak since Christmas came back to haunt him and them.

Substitutes:

Harvey Barnes (for Iheanacho 46′) – 6 – Came on for Iheanacho but some bright movement aside couldn’t offer the same impact.

Matty James (for Praet 85′) – N/A – Came on late.

Ayoze Perez (for Fuchs 90’+2) – N/A – Came on late.

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Manchester City

Ederson – 6 – Lucky to avoid a red card for punching Iheanacho in the face. Otherwise had a reasonably solid evening’s work.

Kyle Walker – 8 – Exceptional work covering for his team-mates.

Fernandinho – 9 – Another fantastic performance despite facing up to the searing pace of Leicester’s attack. It’s completely absurd to see a 35-year-old defensive midfielder be this good at centre-back, yet here we are.

Aymeric Laporte – 6 – Was run kind of ragged by Leicester’s right-flank. Still managed to defend well (his four interceptions was a joint team-high) but was very clearly nowhere near his best.

Benjamin Mendy – 4 – More touches than any other Man City player but was ineffective in attack and an absolute sieve in defence. Leicester tore him to pieces with their forward runs and his team-mates had to work double-time to cover for him.

Rodri – 7 – Solid as always. More passes than any other player on the pitch. Kept Man City ticking over.

Ilkay Gundogan – 6 – Missed a great chance to give Man City the lead. A solid display going forward but offered Rodri no help in defensive transition as Leicester ripped them apart time and time again.

Kevin de Bruyne – 6 – More dangerous with his shooting than passing, he was well-marked by Leicester.

Riyad Mahrez – 9 – An absolute masterclass from Mahrez on his old stomping ground. A joint team-high three shots, three tackles, and a massive (game-high) five chances created including the delightful game-winning assist for Gabriel Jesus. Mahrez has low-key been one of Man City’s finest players this season and was unquestionably wearing that crown at the King Power.

Bernardo Silva – 7 – A decent display in an unfamiliar position.

Sergio Aguero – 4 – Uninvolved besides one lovely pass to Gundogan. Then had a penalty and missed it. Subbed off soon after.

Substitutes:

Nico Otamendi (for Laporte 58′) – 7 – Came on for a flagging Laporte and was fairly solid.

Gabriel Jesus (for Aguero 77′) – 7 – Came on and scored the massive game-winner with a lovely bit of movement and instinctive finishing.