Pep Guardiola celebrated his 500th game in charge of Manchester City with a victory he believes will help rebuild the shattered confidence of his Premier League champions.
Goals in either half from Savinho and Erling Haaland – ending a four-game goal drought – gave City only their second win in 10 league games against a Leicester side who deserved more.
City are still well adrift of leaders Liverpool and their chances of a fifth straight title appear remote – though Guardiola hopes better times are around the corner.
‘We need to win to clear our minds our souls and see ‘OK, we can win games,’ he said. ‘I never thought it would be so difficult and maybe it’s a good thing.
‘Relief is the right word to use, more than happiness. We have to improve a lot and the result will improve us. We’ll get back to our best, that’s for sure, and the result helps us a lot.
‘We all needed it. Hopefully this will improve our mood. Leicester were much better for a lot of the game and we don’t have enough energy to sustain 90 minutes but in the new year hopefully it will help us to bounce back a bit.
Erling Haaland scored just his second league goal in 50 days against Leicester on Sunday
Pep Guardiola’s side faced 11 shots against Leicester and had just 46 per cent possession
The Spaniard admitted he was ‘relieved’ after Man City earned their second win in 14 games
‘I always thought a run like this could happen because football isn’t predictable, but even though I knew that I could never have expected there would be so many games that we’d be unable to win.
‘It’s been an incredible learning experience and this win is just one game. We will see what happens in January.’
Haaland’s goal was only his second in the league since November 9 as Guardiola revealed his star forward had recently become a father for the first time.
Haaland admitted: ‘It was not the ideal performance but the result is the most important thing to clean our minds. It’s always a relief when you score. Now we can rest a little bit.’
Despite the recent troubles, Guardiola’s eight-and-a-half years in Manchester have been remarkably successful, with the 2023 Treble his crowning glory. The 53-year-old also signed a new two-year deal with the club in November.
‘I know the last 13 or 14 games have not been good but we have to be so pleased and happy,’ he added. ‘We have done a lot of things that will be remembered forever. Maybe this period will make us realise how nice it was and hopefully we can come back.’
After starting with a win and a draw, Leicester have lost their last four games and remain in the bottom three though this display left boss Ruud van Nistelrooy feeling optimistic.
The Dutchman said: ‘Because of the performance, it hurts a bit that we didn’t take anything from the game. It’s a shame but it’s a foundation to build on.’