Pep Guardiola praises Leicester after a 'rollercoaster' victory for Man City.

 

It was a whirlwind of emotions, a traditional Boxing Day (game) with numerous goals. It was a fun game for everyone involved.

"It's another victory, and it's crucial for us to keep going, but it was strange." Even with a 4-0 lead in the first half, they arrived in the final third and created chances every time they got the ball.

"Even at 4-0, the game was wide open. It was not shut. They are a large club with a lot of talent, and they adjusted their shape in the second half.

"We are aware of their build-up quality. They have a top-notch side, and we know they've been excellent in recent years. They've always been challenging, and their manager is great." They were really adept in changing shape, but it caused a lot of complications.

"At 4-2, the players' mindsets altered, and at 4-3, the game was on the verge of being leveled, if not won, because their mindset was high and we had doubts."

"But we were patient and we had chances, and we won the game on set-pieces."

City dominated the first half, scoring goals in the open play from Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, as well as penalties from Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling.

After the break, Leicester came back with goals from James Maddison, Ademola Lookman, and Kelechi Iheanacho, but Aymeric Laporte calmed home nerves, and Sterling sealed the win with his second goal.

Brendan Rodgers, who was without a number of players due to injuries, was delighted with the visitors' second-half effort.

"We came in at halftime and the score didn't reflect the game," Rodgers said. We had eight shots to their nine, but we were 4-0 down and in a difficult situation.

"We made a change and challenged the players, saying we needed to win the second half and demonstrate the team's mindset and character."

We are a team that never breaks down psychologically or physically, and it would be easy for us to do so, but the players displayed fantastic passion and played outstanding football to get to 4-3. Even with a score of 5-3, we had two excellent chances.

"It was a tall order against the champs, who had a free week to prepare and weren't missing many players, but the guys rose to the occasion, and I was very pleased of them."