Pep Guardiola’s post-match comments surprised everyone after his Manchester City side beat Leicester City on Sunday.
The Foxes were beaten 2-0 by Man City as goals from Savinho and Erling Haaland were enough to hand Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side a fourth straight defeat.
Van Nistelrooy said he was ‘hurt’ by Leicester’s latest loss during his post-match conference as they couldn’t be rewarded for one of their best performances of the season.
Defeat for the East Midlanders now sees them enter 2025 in the bottom three of the Premier League, two points behind Wolves after their late equaliser away at Tottenham Hotspur.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 18 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 24 | -9 | 17 |
| 17 |  WolvesWolves | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 31 | 42 | -11 | 16 |
| 18 |  LeicesterLeicester | 19 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 42 | -20 | 14 |
| 19 |  IpswichIpswich | 18 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 33 | -17 | 12 |
| 20 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 19 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 39 | -27 | 6 |
Pep Guardiola’s surprising admission after win at Leicester City
It was a much-needed three points for Man City on Guardiola’s 500th game in charge of the Citizens as they picked up a first win since 4 December.
But, despite getting the win, the Catalonian admitted that his side had to work for it and was in agreement with Haaland, who claimed Leicester were tough to beat.
Speaking on Match of the Day, he said: “The performance was not our best, Leicester were good.
“We can not sustain for 90 minutes, today we proved that again. Commitment and physicality.
“They were better than us in the second half. We can not sustain the aggression and pressing. We just can’t right now.”
Leicester City impress against Premier League champions
There’s no denying that the fragile-looking Man City team were there for the taking.
Leicester huffed and puffed and while in recent weeks it’s been their defensive mishaps that let them down, you could say they were wasteful up top.
Jamie Vardy was caught offside several times in the first half before wasting a great chance to bring the Foxes level after the break.
Van Nistelrooy’s side also saw the majority of the ball with a 54 per cent possession in comparison to the Citizens’ 46 per cent.
They were also able to record 11 shots on the opponents’ goal, although on four of them were on target, which is something to improve on.
It’s fine margins but these are all things that Leicester can take encouragement from as the battle for survival continues.