Pep Guardiola defended the performance of Julian Alvarez after Manchester City's 1-0 win against Leicester.
City moved to the top of the Premier League with a crucial win at the King Power Stadium, arresting a slump of three consecutive away matches without a win. Kevin De Bruyne scored the game's only goal with a spectacular second-half free-kick, but in truth the Blues did not create many clear-cut chances.
Guardiola's side dominated the first half in terms of possession, but with no Erling Haaland in the squad due to injury they found it difficult to find ways through an organised Leicester defence.
READ MORE: Man City player ratings vs Leicester as Ederson and Kevin De Bruyne good
Alvarez was the man that started up front in place of Haaland, but save for a one-on-one opportunity that was flagged offside he had a quiet afternoon and was replaced by Phil Foden as City looked for a killer second goal late on.
Saturday's match was billed as a great opportunity for Alvarez to show what he could do out of the shadow of Haaland, but ultimately he had little impact on proceedings. Guardiola backed the 22-year-old to thrive prior to the match, and after it offered an explanation as to why the striker was largely ineffective.
"There’s no space, he moved really well but it’s difficult. When they defend in these positions it’s difficult, for all strikers," Guardiola told BT Sport when asked what he made of Alvarez's performance.
"When we played against Bournemouth, Erling [Haaland] didn’t touch one ball, he made four or six touches. When they [Leicester] opened [up] we had more chances but Leicester is always complicated. We came here in the best moment for them, when you play 12:30, we win, we have to wait. We have two games left in the Premier League, two at home, we have to try to do our job and see what happens."
Read more:
