Jamie Vardy ended his goal drought with a clinical hat-trick as Leicester destroyed Manchester City's inept defence on the counter-attack
7.34pm GMT
Related: Jamie Vardy hat-trick leads Leicester demolition of Manchester City
7.22pm GMT
Peep peep! The end of a fascinating game, in which Leicester shredded a jittery Manchester City on the counter-attack. City had all of the ball, and scored two late goals to make the scoreline vaguely respectable, but at times they were embarrassed. Thanks for your emails, night.
7.19pm GMT
90+3 min Okazaki takes a yellow card for the team by pulling back the advancing Kolarov.
“Football’s just joining in this whole ‘post-truth’ thing, isn’t it?” says Alys Barber-Rogers. “Nothing’s real anymore.”
7.19pm GMT
90+2 min A Leicester substitution: the marvellous Mahrez is replaced by Matty James.
7.18pm GMT
90+1 min There will be four minutes of added time, and Nolito drags a shot not far wide from Sterling’s cut-back.
7.17pm GMT
Nolito finishes smartly from Kolarov’s sharp low cross. Kolarov has had a stinker in the day job as a defender but he has made one and scored one while moonlighting in the Leicester half.
7.15pm GMT
87 min Sterling takes out his frustration on Mahrez’s left shin and is lucky not to be booked. Then Jamie Vardy gets an ovation substitution from Claudio Ranieri, a nice touch at the end of a cathartic evening for him. This is his first hat-trick since he was at Fleetwood, and all three were taken superbly.
7.12pm GMT
84 min “Is John Stones the centre-half equivalent of the Emperor’s new clothes?” says David Wall. “ I seriously doubt that any professional footballer, no matter what position they play, can’t dribble the ball a bit and pass with reasonable accuracy over 10, 20 yards. It’s not the basic skills that sets apart excellent, ball-playing centre-halves, it’s the confidence and judgement to do it at the right times. Stones has too much of the former but almost none of the latter, and he seems to think that it’s all about being comfortable with the ball at your feet (not that his mistakes are responsible for this scoreline but this subject always gets raised when City concede a few goals so I thought I’d do it too).”
City bought potential, essentially. His main flaw is his decision-making, and that should improve with experience, so I get why Guardiola has invested so much in him. There has to be a concern about mental scarring, mind you. At this stage, he is, as Paul Doyle put it so brilliantly, the perfect defender for teams who don’t defend.
7.09pm GMT
Kolarov curls a superb free-kick past Zieler at the near post. It’s not even a consolation goal but it was a terrific strike.
7.08pm GMT
82 min “If he had the players to do so,” begins Christopher Dale, “I’m convinced Guardiola’s ideal system would exclusively involve attacking and defensive midfielders.”
Oh, no question. You could probably have an 11th midfielder in place of the goalkeeper as well.
7.07pm GMT
Stones played a blind pass back to Bravo. Vardy read it, went round Bravo with his first touch and then squeezed a shot in from a ridiculous angle. It hit the far post and was cleared by the covering Sagna, but Hawkeye confirmed the ball was just over the line when he did so. It was a brilliant finish from Vardy, who has taken all three goals clinically.
7.05pm GMT
Jamie Vardy completes a hat-trick after a dreadful mistake from John Stones!
7.04pm GMT
77 min Okazaki replaces Slimani, who played a lovely pass for that game-changing first goal. Okazaki will do more defensive work.
7.04pm GMT
76 min Manchester City continue to push forward with puppy-dog enthusiasm. Yet they still haven’t had a shot on target, and Leicester are reasonably in control defensively.
7.02pm GMT
74 min “Isn’t the problem that Pep is persisting with a way of playing that is clearly not suited to the players at his disposal?” says Shaun Wilkinson. “Far be it from me to suggest arrogance, but maybe he does deserve at least some of the opprobrium he is getting, as (this is just a theory) maybe he is so convinced he is a genius at coming up with systems that he forgets there is a human element to football too. This the first time he is having to come up with plans for a team that is not world class from I to XI, and so far, I don’t think you can say he is passing that test.”
That’s true. You could argue that, in a sane world, a manager would not be judged until he is managing his team. But it’s true, in the modern world of football manager you must learn to cut all types of cloth. It’s all moot because, for richer or poorer, Guardiola will never change.
6.59pm GMT
73 min Breaking news: Pep’s trainers aren’t Converse (with thanks to Anthony Webb).
6.57pm GMT
71 min I think Leicester are over the worst, and they are starting to look dangerous on the counter-attack again. Manchester City’s domination is sterility itself.
6.55pm GMT
69 min Nolito comes on for Gundogan, replacing him in the centre of City’s 0-10-0 formation.
6.55pm GMT
68 min Fernando is booked for what looked a good tackle on Simpson. Manchester City, for all their possession, have had no shots on target. Somebody is going to overdose on schadenfreude any minute now.
6.54pm GMT
67 min “Presuming Leicester don’t score again today, then every home team in the PL today will have scored 3 goals,” says Sean Revill (and many others). “Can you think of any other occasions where similar trends have occurred?”
My mates and I all scored 0 on 12 consecutive away trips to JJs Nightclub in the summer of 1994, if that counts.
6.53pm GMT
66 min Leicester are having a good mini-spell, which they needed if only to allow their defenders to imbibe some oxygen.
6.50pm GMT
64 min Slimani walks past a couple of City defenders, who don’t seem perturbed in the slightest, before hitting a low 20-yard shot that is comfortably saved by the sprawling Bravo.
6.49pm GMT
63 min “I barely understand what football has done to me these days,” says Matt Dony. “Yes, I know Leicester had ‘The Fairytale’, and it was refreshing to see an unfancied team win the league, but I really, really hate Huth. He puts me off the whole Leicester team, and i was disappointed to see him with a winners’ medal. That said, it’s sad to see any team go from league winners to potential relegation so quickly. I hope they turn it around and stay up, and taking points off City might just help Liverpool (I know, I know...). I’ve never been a fan of Pep, I never liked the sanctimonious Barca ‘Mes Que Un Club’ tiki-taka-or-nothing attitude. But suddenly I feel sorry for him. I’m a ball of contradictions, and it’s all football’s fault.”
6.49pm GMT
62 min Another near miss for City. Zabaleta pitter-patters past two defenders and curls a left-footed shot that deflects off King and spins fractionally wide of the far post.
6.47pm GMT
Pep Guardiola really pushing boundaries with this new false goalkeeper position.
6.45pm GMT
58 min A double City substitution: Sterling and Yaya Toure replace Navas and Iheanacho. So City are now playing a kind of 0-5-5-0.
6.44pm GMT
57 min Stones’s superb pass to De Bruyne sparks a good City move. Eventually Iheanacho tees up Gundogan, who drags a low shot this far wide from 17 yards.
6.43pm GMT
55 min Pep Guardiola is wearing trainers, Converse I think.
6.41pm GMT
54 min De Bruyne’s devastating pass puts Iheanacho through on goal, but he’s flagged offside just before Zieler saves his shot. It was just about the right decision.
6.39pm GMT
52 min De Bruyne’s dangerous cross is punched away by Zieler, then Navas’s volley is blocked.
6.39pm GMT
51 min It’s an absurd thing to say, but Leicester might need a fourth here. The game feels so open now and City look menacing with every attack.
6.37pm GMT
50 min A triple chance for City! Zabaleta and De Bruyne have shots blocked, the second bringing an optimistic appeal for handball, and then De Bruyne drags his shot just wide from 15 yards.
6.36pm GMT
48 min City (Manchester) continue to endure most of the possession - they have had 76 per cent of it in this match, and bugger all good it has done them. This is vaguely reminiscent of Bayern 7-0 Barcelona three years ago, not that Pep Guardiola was involved in that.
6.33pm GMT
46 min Leicester begin the second half, counter-attacking from right to left.I have no idea what formation City are now playing, I think it might be a 3-4-2-1. What the hell, we’ll call it a 10.
6.32pm GMT
“In response to Johnathan, I would suggest that we all give Pep at least a season to acclimatise to the idiosyncrasies of ‘this league’,” says Matt Loten, demonstrating a despicable level of common sense. “What I think we are seeing, though, is that he hasn’t quite worked out when and where to rotate his squad in a more competitive league. I’m not saying they’re on the same level, but his travails do remind me somewhat of Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool teams in the Premier League, which were never able to mount a sustained challenge due to a lack of continuity. Rotation has its advantages, and I can understand the temptation when there is no winter break and a surplus of competitions, but the sheer intensity of this division makes it very difficult to pick and choose where you are going to deploy your best XI, and the opposition will exploit a lack of rhythm.”
You say that, and I agree up to a point, but Fergie was the biggest rotater of all. He didn’t always get it right but his ability to calculate the risks of rotation on a case-by-case basis was incredible. It’s one of the most important skills for a manager these days. As for Guardiola, he clearly needs time as he is essentially working with another manager’s defence, a defence that is unsuited to his, erm, brand of football. When he develops his team, they will be formidable. The way some folk talk about this league, you’d think the Brazil 1970 team would have finished 12th in Division One, behind Coventry on goal difference.
6.22pm GMT
Riyad love-in “As that 50-yard high ball was dropping toward Mahrez I saw who it was and knew he’d do what he did: his pass was perfectly controlled, played on the half-volley with perfect weight—and at the perfect angle for Vardy to run onto,” says Wilson Beuys. “It was like someone had rolled the ball to him in a practice match. Many players would’ve struggled to bring it down, taken a touch, slowed the whole move down... is there anyone else who could’ve played such a sublime first-time pass under those circumstances? Iniesta? Zidane? Stan Bowles?”
Carlos Kaiser?
6.19pm GMT
It seems Leicester aren’t quite finished with miracle-working. They were 3-0 up by the halfway point of the first half, with Jamie Vardy scoring his first goals since September and Riyad Mahrez reminding everyone of his velvet genius. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
6.17pm GMT
45+2 min Slimani misses a glorious chance to make it 4-0. The wonderful Mahrez waved an insouciant pass down the right to free Albrighton. His superb cross found Slimani unmarked, six yards out, yet he contrived to put his header wide of the far post.
6.15pm GMT
45 min If City lose today, they will probably be seven points behind Chelsea this time tomorrow. In a sane world, Guardiola would have time to build the team he wants. He won’t get that time of course, and there are already signs that he might struggle to handle our often infantile media coverage.
6.14pm GMT
43 min There’s more wrestling in the box from a City corner. Both sides were guilty, the referee gave nothing, and Pep Guardiola has a wry smile on his face.
6.13pm GMT
42 min Kolarov’s sharp cut back from the left finds Fernando, whose first-time sidefoot is headed away by King.
6.12pm GMT
41 min “Is it too soon,” begins Johnathan, “to ask if Pep Guardiola can only do it in leagues where there’s only one other club with a realistic chance of challenging his team for the title?”
Not sure. But I do know that the phrase “this league”, delivered in a self-satisfied manner, will be used like never before in discussion of this game.
6.12pm GMT
39 min City are having loads of the ball now but Leicester look relatively comfortable in defence.
6.09pm GMT
37 min That’s a hilarious stat on BT Sport. Manchester City Leicester 222-53 on passes in this match. A slightly more significant stat is available at the top of this page.
6.04pm GMT
33 min The score is Counter-attack 3-0 Tiki-taka. Somewhere in England, an 87-year-old man called Charles Hughes is experiencing sustained pleasure.
6.03pm GMT
32 min De Bruyne’s inswinging cross-shot from the left is punched away extravagantly by Zieler. It was a comfortable save really.
6.01pm GMT
31 min Gundogan shanks a half-volley from the edge of the box but it breaks to De Bruyne, who wins a corner - from which Kolarov almost gets one back. De Bruyne’s excellent inswinger was flicked off by Fernando and headed wide of the far post by Kolarov. He had very little reaction time and couldn’t steer it on target.
5.59pm GMT
29 min City are exhibiting many symptoms of shock. All bets are off in this game. It could easily end 6-0 or 3-4. City try to play the ball out and Fernando almost passes it straight out for a corner. Unless you support Manchester City, this is very, very funny. They are an absolute shambles!
5.57pm GMT
27 min Kolarov drives a shot high over the bar from 25 yards.
5.57pm GMT
26 min “3-0?” says Hubert O’Hearn. “Wow. Crisis baton to Pep Guardiola!”
He’s going to really, really enjoy meeting his friends from the press after this game.
5.55pm GMT
24 min “When did English football commentators start referring to wet pitches as ‘greasy’?” says Allan Castle. “It’s off-putting.”
It could be worse: Mahrez tip-toes seductively across the moist surface, etc.
5.54pm GMT
23 min Manchester City are the definitive shower! Mahrez runs infield from the right, past a couple of token challenges, and tries to place a curler into the far corner. Bravo springs to his right to make a good save. Leicester are savaging City on the counter-attack.
5.52pm GMT
This is another splendid goal. Fuchs drilled an angled 60-yard pass to Mahrez on the right. His first touch was just wonderful, a velvet pass to put Vardy through on goal. He went smoothly round Bravo to score. Mahrez has had a quiet season but he has shown his undoubted genius today with two beautiful first touches to create Vardy’s goals.
5.51pm GMT
If Leicester really concentrate on the counter-attack - which they aren’t doing at the moment - this could be over by half-time. And they’ve scored again!
5.50pm GMT
20 min “Hi Rob,” says Graham Randall. “Apparently I know nothing. Cheers.”
Welcome to my humble abode.
5.49pm GMT
19 min Simpson is booked for a sliding foul on Kolarov down the left. City are starting to build some pressure, without doing anything particularly impressive.
5.48pm GMT
17 min “1990 is back,” says Ben Fitzpatrick. “Michael Oliver has tram lines in his hair. I thought Clattenberg was meant to be ‘the cool one’?”
You think that’s cool? You should see Jon Moss’s record collection mate. He only ever buys Rough Trade records. Won’t put anything else in his ears.
5.46pm GMT
16 min “Even Pep surely must see Yaya Toure offers more than Fernando!!” says Nick Parmenter. “Has Fernando ever played well for City???”
They are completely different players aren’t they? I’m not at all convinced by his 3-2-4-1 system, not with these players, but I can understand why he played Fernando.
5.45pm GMT
15 min De Bruyne’s low cross shot is almost turned in by the stretching Iheanacho, though he was offside.
5.45pm GMT
13 min I think City have switched to a 4-2-3-1, with Zabaleta at right-back, Sagna in the centre and Gundogan alongside Fernando in midfield ... and I’m boring myself.
5.43pm GMT
12 min That should have been 3-0. A corner on the left was played short and eventually driven beyond the far post. Huth headed it down and Slimani, who got to the ball first on the corner of the six-yard box, volleyed over the bar.
5.41pm GMT
11 min Here’s Pep’s take on matters.
5.40pm GMT
9 min “Hey Rob,” says JR. “I may not know much but I know that this game ain’t ending 1-0. Well, before I hit send it became 2-0 so I’ll amend my statement to say this game ain’t ending 2-0. Looking like 3-6 or something is likely.”
5.38pm GMT
7 min Mahrez almost wriggles through the defence to make it 3-0! City aren’t a shambles at the back; they are much, much worse.
5.36pm GMT
A long throw from the left broke to Slimani in the box. He laid it back invitingly for King, who whipped an insouciant rising shot through Bravo’s right hand and into the net. I think King might have given Bravo the eyes, shaping to curl it into the far corner before pulling it to the other side of goal. Either way, Bravo might have benefitted from a stronger right wrist.
5.35pm GMT
It’s 2-0 to the champions!
5.34pm GMT
That was a fine goal. Kolarov’s hoof forward was headed back by Huth. Mahrez cushioned the dropping ball beautifully to Slimani, who slipped a nice pass between Stones and Kolarov for Vardy. He scooted in front of Kolarov and drove a precise first-time shot into the far corner.
5.32pm GMT
Jamie Vardy gives Leicester the lead with his first goal in three months!
5.31pm GMT
2 min Turns out City are playing the usual 3-2-4-1, with Zabaleta in midfield, so I’ve amended the team news below and we’ll pretend I had it right all along.
5.30pm GMT
1 min Peep peep! City kick off from right to left. They are in black, Leicester are in blue.
5.20pm GMT
“This has disaster written all over it,” writes Graham Randall. “Cannot understand why Okazaki isn’t playing. With the weakness of the central midfield two and playing two wingers, need one of the forwards to drop deep and do a lot of defensive work. Neither Slimani or Vardy will do that. And don’t get me started on rolling out the same back four. Again. It worked last season but didn’t strengthen at all in the summer. Too many wingers and forwards.”
It’s easy to say this from afar, in my underpants, but I find it hard to comprehend that any Leicester fan could be annoyed by anything this season. I thought the glow of such a staggering achievement would last a lot longer.
5.19pm GMT
The rain in Leicester verges on the biblical, which should add a nice primal element to an already intriguing match.
4.54pm GMT
A bit of pre-match reading
Related: Claudio Bravo: ‘Criticism is going to exist. I feel it helps me to get better’
4.51pm GMT
Leicester City (4-4-2) Zieler; Simpson, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs; Mahrez, Amartey, King, Albrighton; Vardy, Slimani.
Substitutes: Hamer, Chilwell, James, Mendy, Gray, Musa, Okazaki.
Manchester City (3-2-4-1) Bravo; Sagna, Stones, Kolarov; Zabaleta, Fernando; Navas, Gundogan, Silva, De Bruyne; Iheanacho.
Substitutes: Caballero, Sterling, Nolito, Sane, Clichy, Toure, Adarabioyo.
12.52pm GMT
Good evening. It’s a reflection of Pep Guardiola’s domestic dominance that today’s visit to Leicester is his first league match against the defending champions since 2 May 2009. Barcelona won 6-2 at Real Madrid that day, all but securing the first of Guardiola’s six league titles in Spain and Germany. The seventh may not come as easily as the smugnescenti assumed when he moved to Manchester.
Guardiola’s City have won only four of the last 14 games in all competitions, and sit four points behind Chelsea after last Saturday’s marvellous match. They will also be without their most important player, Fernandinho, for the next three matches, and Sergio Aguero for the next four. Guardiola’s intriguing 3-2-4-1 system has not yet had the desired effect.
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