"Brought the energy that was needed", "Big piece of the puzzle" - Fans praise Manchester City star after 2-0 win over Leicester

Fans heaped praise on Manchester City attacking midfielder James McAtee for his performance in the 2-0 win over Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday, December 29.

The 22-year-old came on as a substitute in the 66th minute, replacing Phil Foden. City had entered the contest 14 points off the Premier League summit. Hoping to end their poor run of form, they started brightly as they opened the scoring in 21st minute.

Savinho scored his first goal for City to put the reigning champions ahead, lashing home from close range after Phil Foden’s initial effort was parried away by Foxes goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.

City doubled their lead in the 74th minute through Erling Haaland, who clinically headed home Savinho’s delivery as City ended a five-game winless run across competitions.

An X user wrote:

''McAtee brought the energy that was needed. The game was just drifting away. I'm so glad for once Pep made that change early. I could see something was needed to change the game.''

Another tweeted:

''James McAtee is a big piece of the puzzle. Give the kid more minutes!!!''

''Mcatee having this kind of cameo and not seeing an increase of minutes would be a shame'' another added

''James McAtee what a player'' a fourth wrote

''Pep really had McAtee benched for no reason'' another chimed in

''Mcatee needs to start going forward.'' another opined

The 22-year-old McAtee was instrumental in the build-up to City’s second goal as he took on a few Leicester players before passing the ball to Kevin De Bruyne, who picked out Savinho and then Haaland.

McAtee made 11 accurate passes out of 14 attempted, won two out of three duels contested and had a rating of 6.7 as per Sofascore (at the time of writing).

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‘’I'm very pleased for him because he's an incredibly lovely guy’’ – Pep Guardiola on McAtee after Manchester City beat Leicester City

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was also pleased with the performance of James McAtee. The manager said he had it in mind to make them McAtee his first substitute, adding that the player didn’t make a mistake in the game.

James McAtee is a product of Manchester City’s youth system and was promoted to the senior team in 2023. He has also spent time at Sheffield United on loan. Guardiola waxed lyrical about his performance against Leicester (via Sporting News);

"I had the feeling before the game, I said if I had to make a substitution the first one would be James. I felt it.

"I always had the feeling he could play with us. I'm very pleased for him because he's an incredibly lovely guy. He trains really good, never one bad face, and he won his minutes."

Since getting promoted to Manchester City’s senior team, James McAtee has scored one goal in 16 appearances across competitions.