Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes Leicester have given other Premier League sides the blueprint to beat Manchester City without star striker Erling Haaland.
A moment of brilliance from a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick was needed to separate the two sides at the King Power Stadium. Before kick-off, the Foxes were boosted by news that they would be the first English side not to face Haaland this season. The Norwegian hitman has terrorised top-flight defences since his move from Borussia Dortmund.
A staggering 22 goals in all competitions has led some to declare the Golden Boot race over already. However, a knock picked up against his former club last week forced Haaland to sit out at the weekend.
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Julian Alvarez was given the nod in his absence but City did not look as potent in front of goal. Former Gunners striker Wright thinks he has cracked the code should Haaland remain sidelined.
Speaking on Match of the Day, the 58-year-old praised Leicester’s ability to stay compact and keep City out wide. The Foxes limited Pep Guardiola’s side to just five shots on target but were ultimately undone by a genius set-piece.
“We know how great Man City are, how well they keep the ball, but Leicester defensively today were brilliant,” Wright said.
“When you’re talking about a team that has conceded 22 goals in the first seven games, three in the last six games, they’ve really done a lot of work defensively and I think it showed today. I think we saw what it took to beat them.
“You could see how compact (Leicester) are. They were giving (Man City) the width, letting them go out wide. (João) Cancelo and Bernardo Silva up there, because they know Erling Haaland wasn’t playing and, like Brendan Rodgers said, he was doing cartwheels when he found that out.
“They defended very well. You could see what (Man City) were trying to do, they were trying to open them up, but they stayed compact. You could see the five-at-the-back, once the ball went in, they were able to deal with it and there was no way through, very very organised.”
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