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Five things we learned from Man City’s defeat at Leicester

Manchester City’s poor form continued at the weekend as they suffered a disastrous 4-2 defeat at the hands of reigning Premier League champions Leicester City. A combination of poor defending, questionable goalkeeping and a lack of clinical attacking play cost them the match.

Here are five things we learned from the Blues’ defeat.

Claudio Bravo might not be the right goalkeeper after all

Upon his arrival from Barcelona in the summer, Claudio Bravo was heavily tipped to fulfil one of the most important roles on the pitch for Pep Guardiola. The importance of that role has not diminished, but the faith from City supporters in the Chilean to complete that role most certainly has.

Since his £15 million switch, the 33-year-old goalkeeper has been the subject of a number of disastrous errors and, naturally, criticisms. The defeat against Leicester was no exception to his string of slips, as Bravo conceded four more in the Premier League. For some reason, he often fails to close down opposition strikers when they are through on goal and, from the last six shots on target that he has faced, he has conceded five goals.

Many have questioned whether his feeble frame is suitable for English football, with others noting that goalkeepers usually take a year or two to adapt to the style of play. Yet time is not on Bravo’s side, and for a shot-stopper, whose job is to ultimately stop shots, he has done little to demonstrate that he is capable.

City must replace their ageing fullbacks

It has long been recognised that the Blues’ fullbacks are ageing and showing that age in their performances. Whilst veteran Pablo Zabaleta may well have performed well in midfield against Celtic midweek, his showings at right-back this term have been poor. Aleksandar Kolarov was involved in both of City’s consolation goals, scoring and assisting, yet his defensive contributions were negligent.

Both were unable to deal with the blistering pace shown by Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, leaving centre back duo John Stones and Bacary Sagna heavily exposed.

With the likes of Angelino and Pablo Maffeo waiting in reserve, full of youth and energy, perhaps Guardiola ought to consider featuring them in some of his outfit’s upcoming league fixtures during the congested Christmas period.

City lack leadership

It comes without saying that a club’s captain is usually the one to provide the leadership required for a top team and, without Vincent Kompany in the side, City have lacked leadership.

Everything seems a bit chaotic at the moment, especially in terms of defence, with an absence of authority and organisation. A collection of calamities cost City once again. Whenever they concede, everybody looks frustrated yet nobody appears to accept fault.

When Yaya Toure came on as a substitute at the King Power Stadium, City looked slightly better organised, maintaining their shape well due to the stability and authority that the Ivorian provides. But it shouldn’t have taken a top side like City to go 4-0 down before they really started to play.

City will miss Aguero

The Citizens have managed just eight goals in their last five league outings. Sergio Aguero was suspended for the fixture against the Foxes and, with the Argentine talisman still to serve a further three games on the side-line, City could really struggle to score.

Guardiola’s men were wasteful in front of goal, as they managed just four shots on target from a total of 19. Aguero has netted 10 of his side’s 32 league goals thus far and he will no doubt be a big miss.

But perhaps Nolito could be the player to fill the void

Many anticipated that in Aguero’s absence, young star Kelechi Iheanacho would be the man to lead the line for all four of those games. That could well still be the case, despite an off-performance against Leicester.

However, summer signing Nolito has already shown that he is capable of being in and amongst the goals this term, scoring four and assisting two in just over 600 minutes in the Premier League. One of those was his consolation against Leicester on Saturday, a neat flick from Kolarov’s cross which was conducted in a similar style to Aguero himself.

With an average of 13 league goals per season across the last three La Liga campaigns, the Spaniard is capable of playing as a centre forward as well as on the wing. Perhaps Guardiola could make use of this when rotating his players in order to utilise Nolito’s tendency to be in the right place at the right time in his star striker’s absence.