Manchester City cruised to a routine 2-0 victory at home over struggling Leicester City on Wednesday night, with goals from Jack Grealish and Omar Marmoush securing all three points and moving Pep Guardiola’s team up to fourth.
In what was the first game since Erling Haaland’s injury, many City fans stayed inside the Etihad Stadium for the first nine minutes to protest the club’s ticketing policy.
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As a result, they missed Grealish’s opener after two minutes — his first Premier League goal in 27 appearances. It was a game that also saw second-half substitute Oscar Bobb make his first league appearance of the season after breaking his leg in August.
Here, Sam Lee analyses the key talking points from City’s victory.
How Manchester City replaced Haaland
As City try to navigate the rest of the domestic season without Haaland, there will no doubt be various different options that Guardiola will deploy.
Against Leicester it was a strike partnership of sorts, featuring Grealish and the man that most assume will be the most regular No 9 over the coming weeks — Marmoush.
With Jeremy Doku and Savinho on the wings, Grealish and Marmoush stayed high when City had the ball, up against the Leicester defenders. Grealish dropped a little deeper to link with those around him, while Marmoush’s fondness for a run in behind was utilised.
The fact that both men got on the scoresheet suggests a job well done, although it was not the most incisive performance on the whole and they were playing a side in terrible form. There is plenty of dynamism in that front four — including when James McAtee came on towards the end — but, as the old adage goes, there will be tougher tests ahead.
Marmoush puts Manchester City 2-0 up (OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Grealish question remains unanswered
This may seem dramatic, but we probably are at the stage now where Grealish is in need of saving his Manchester City career. This was his first Premier League start since December 21 last year, and while injuries have played their part in that, there have evidently been times when Guardiola has left him out for other reasons.
His run of starts since the start of the year, before tonight, reads Salford City, Leyton Orient, Real Madrid (taken off injured) and Plymouth Argyle. He did well in that Plymouth game and was then photographed out drinking, something Guardiola said he had no problem with, but Grealish did not start any of the three matches between then and this game against Leicester.
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It was even a rare sight to see him come off the bench against Bournemouth in the FA Cup on Sunday; if he is named on the bench, he normally stays there (seven of the last 10 occasions).
Yet, suddenly, he is back in the team and a goal within two minutes against Leicester will be very welcome as players vie for the hole left by Haaland. The last time Grealish scored in the league was 474 days ago, against Crystal Palace in December 2023, and his lack of goal threat is well known, but he can bring a lot to this team in other ways when he is available — highlighted by the fact he was announced as the game’s man of the match in added time.
If he cannot get in the team consistently before the end of the season, it might be time for a change of scenery but there is time to do something about that.
Grealish scores the opener (Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
What exactly were the fans protesting?
If you see the footage of Grealish’s opening goal you will be struck by how few City fans were in the south stand to see it go in, and the reason is that there was a fan protest that saw supporters stay on the concourse for the first nine minutes of the match.
Why nine? Well, that is how many official ticket resale partners the club have. The Athletic wrote in February about fan frustrations with the club’s ticketing policies, stoked by games against Real Madrid and Liverpool when there were scores of away fans in the home ends.
One of the reasons highlighted by fan groups was the fact that City had eight resale partners, and the perception was that it was too easy for fans of other teams to get into the Etihad using these (usually very expensive) resellers, diluting the atmosphere and creating safety concerns.
Last week, City announced Viagogo as the ninth partner, which was the breaking point for a lot of people. Thousands of fans stayed inside for the first nine minutes, showing the club that there are plenty who will take action — something to keep an eye on ahead of any announcement around season ticket pricing.
Empty seats during the first nine minutes (Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
What did Guardiola say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Manchester City?
Sunday, April 6: Manchester United (A), Premier League, 4:30pm UK, 11:30am ET
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(Top photo: Lee Parker – CameraSport via Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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