Guardiola Blames Leicester's Defensive Strategy For City's Defeat

JAKARTA - Manchester City was devastated by Leicester City. Despite playing at home, City lost 2-5 in the Premier League on Sunday, September 27.

City appeared dominant after former Leicester midfielder Riyad Mahrez gave his team the lead in the early minutes. But their pattern of play fell apart after Jamie Vardy equalized from the penalty spot in the 37th minute.

After the match, City manager Pep Guardiola revealed the cause of City's destruction. He accused the defensive game pattern applied by the visitors as the culprit.

"They don't want to play, they stay deep and they just want a counter attack," Guardiola told the BBC.

"They scored their first goal up to three penalties in total, so it was very difficult for us. Failing to create opportunities makes us nervous and anxious," said Guardiola.

The absence of two strikers Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus due to injury made City seem like a toothless tiger even though they dominated possession.

On the other hand, their defense was fragile, so every time Vardy pushed forward they also got into trouble.

Vardy scored two goals from a penalty and another from a heel finish, while James Maddison and Youri Tielemans each scored the final two goals.

Here's what the boss has had to say following tonight's performance ... 🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/UveMuCzrm0

- Manchester City (@ManCity) September 27, 2020

Guardiola regretted his team's loss of balance, but promised to get up. For City, conceding five goals in a league match at home is the first since beating Arsenal 1-5 in February 2003.

"This is a tough result but I will not give up. I will find a solution so that this team is stable," he said.

"My players may not think they played well enough after conceding, but we at that stage we were dominating," he continued.

"The problem is we put extra pressure on ourselves to score the second and third goals. We have to be more calm. We have to be more patient."