Leicester City 0-1 Manchester City: 5 talking points as the Foxes give Guardiola's men a run for their money | Premier League 2021-22

#3 Substitutes kill Rodgers' near-perfect tactics

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers appreciating the home support.

Leicester stuck to Brendan Rodgers' instructions and played their way through the City midfield, leaving Rodri and Gundogan for dead multiple times during their counter-attacks. It was the perfect setup to decode Guardiola's tactics and the Foxes implemented the plan very well throughout the game.

But the Irish coach dug his own grave with his substitutions as Manchester City scored a minute after Vestergaard was taken off for Jonny Evans.

Though the goal came from a long shot being blocked and then converted by Bernardo Silva, there was a clear positioning miscommunication between Soyuncu and Evans moments before the goal.

Evans cemented the Leicester defense after the goal and Leicester's further substitutions worked out very well. However, it took a moment for City to pounce upon the unsettled pair of Soyuncu and Evans after the established Dane, Vestergaard, had left the pitch following a disciplined display.

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#4 Best midfield battle of the Premier League so far

Youri Tielemans had a good day at work despite being at the losing end.

Bernardo Silva's lone goal, Kasper Schmeichel's heroics and some resolute defending by the Leicester defenders, totally took the spotlight away from one of the best midfield battles of this Premier League campaign so far.

Both sides played two pivots in the form of Youri Tielemans-Wilfred Ndidi and Ilkay Gundogan-Rodri respectively, and though it was a silent show by these four stars, it definitely had a huge impact on the game.

Tielemans was instrumental in progressing the ball whenever Leicester had the ball and countered, whereas Ndidi was the fifth defender in front of the back-line, absolutely eliminating the threat from the central areas of the pitch.

Gundogan and Rodri played the exact same roles as their counterparts, which made this one of the most mouthwatering clashes of some of Europe's most precise-passing midfielders.

Statistically, Gundogan was the best player on the pitch. He made four key passes in the game which led to shots on target, won three of his five duels contested and even blocked four shots, which was very unlike the German's usual game.

In a game which was literally running on fine margins throughout, this midfield battle kept it tactically sound.

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#5 Impenetrable City make it three clean sheets in a row

Pep Guardiola celebrates Bernardo Silva's goal.

The title-holders certainly had a difficult start to life this season as they were handed a tough schedule to start with.

Apart from the Canaries from Norwich, Pep Guardiola had to prepare his men for three important games against Spurs, Arsenal and Leicester in the space of the first four game-weeks. But the champions have met their expectations and how.

During that overwhelming run of fixtures, City have had three clean sheets, 11 goals scored and just one conceded. This is the first time they have kept three consecutive clean sheets since February 2021, thanks to the magic of the dynamic duo at the heart of the City defense.

They now sit second to main rivals Manchester United, but have a massive goal difference of 10 goals to their name. With Chelsea and Liverpool upcoming in the next three game-weeks, Manchester City will need every ounce of their star studded squad depth from here on in to stay near the top of the Premier League table.