Ederson saves day for Pep
PEP GUARDIOLA benefitted from his Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson being allowed to play at Leicester with a crucial late save earning the champions a 1-0 win at Leicester.
Ederson, who had earlier suffered a cut mouth in a collision with Harvey Barnes, courageously rushed from his goal to block Ademola Lookman late on when the Leicester substitute was clear on goal.
Manchester City only received confirmation on the morning of the game that Ederson and Gabriel Jesus could play after the Brazilian FA withdrew their request to invoke a five-day ban for the players who didn’t take part in last week’s World Cup qualifiers because of Covid quarantine restrictions.
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said after Ederson’s match-winning save: ‘That’s why he is top-class. He had been very brave earlier in the game with Harvey Barnes and then the speed off the line, when Ademola looked up, Ederson was there.
‘He is a world-class keeper but I am proud of how my team kept fighting and how competitive they were. I was just disappointed we couldn’t take the opportunities we head.’ After losing their opening league match at Spurs, City have recorded three wins — all with clean sheets.
‘All the players were brilliant,’ said Guardiola. ‘With Kasper Schmeichel, Leicester had the quality to put the balls in the right spot. It was difficult with Vardy in behind.
‘We always suffer against Leicester. It was like the Community Shield game but different in that we were able to win.’
Both sides start their European campaigns next week.
Manchester City are at home in the Champions League against RB Leipzig on Wednesday and Leicester host Napoli in the Europa League on Thursday.