Manchester City won.

Three points at the King Power for Pep Guardiola's champions should not be headline news yet after one victory in their previous 13 games in all competitions nothing could be taken for granted. Things have got so bad for the all-conquering Blues that as they warmed up on the pitch for this match they had to hear their mascot for the day predict a Leicester win; even the stadium announcer for the Premier League strugglers couldn't quite believe it.

Those Blues who have seen it all can afford to indulge in gallows humour, gleefully singing about the club staying up when Savinho scored his first goal for the club that would prove to help City to a 2-0 win. One of Guardiola's biggest issues in the worst run of his coaching career has been that while City supporters sing about not being really present, the same can be said for too many players.

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That has been in the literal sense of the exceptionally high number of absentees for every game in the last two months, rising to a high of eight for the draw with Everton on Boxing Day before coming down to six at Leicester as Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker returned. But there have also been far too many players who haven't hit the standards expected of them, culminating in this extraordinary collapse in form.

A win is a positive but City are fragile enough that they cannot ignore the cracks that belied the result if they are to build on it. Even in one of their better performances during this run, there were still plenty of warnings from an opposition side that did little to disprove their position near the bottom of the table.

There was the offside flag that prevented Stefan Ortega giving away an early penalty on Jamie Vardy after Savinho had dribbled his way into the box and then out of play, or the header from Facundo Buonanotte that bounced off the post before City scrambled it away to preserve their lead at the end of the first half. The visitors enjoyed the bulk of possession and there were times where their press worked aggressively and successfully, but on a handful of occasions - too often, basically - they were unable to stop Leicester streaming forward with the ball threatening their goal.

Even a 1-0 lead to take into the break was a sign of how City have lost their control. Guardiola's side scored twice in the opening 45 minutes in three of their first four league games, but have only managed it once in the next 15.

Teams are sensing that they are still in the game because that is what the scoreline says and that is what City say when they lose the ball. It was no surprise to see Leicester come out with extra verve after the break.

Buonanotte wanted a penalty after going down following contact with Nathan Ake, and with 20 minutes to go Vardy beat Ortega to a cross in the six-yard box but could only divert the ball over the crossbar. Instead of running at Leicester, City were running out of steam with passes that had been solid now hesitant and half-hearted.

If it felt like a positive move to bring on James McAtee before then - his third league appearance this season and the first time he has appeared before the 89th minute - but minutes later Walker was coming on for Ake with the defence in disarray as they questioned each other over Vardy's latest chance.

City are not good trying to hold onto a lead because it isn't natural to them, but while they haven't been strong enough to put teams away it is all they have been left with. Credit then to McAtee for driving the move that ended with Haaland heading in the goal that killed this game as a contest with 15 minutes to go.

McAtee hasn't had the minutes he wanted and arguably deserved in this run, and while it was a good cross from Savinho for Haaland the same fans who sang the Brazilian's name after the first goal opted for McAtee's after the second. If there was any doubt, they sang it again a few minutes later.

Savinho needs goals to kick on, and if McAtee can help provide them, then that puts him ahead of most others in the squad at the moment. Two new chants could lead to two names who become much more familiar in the side.

That is getting ahead of time, and City cannot afford to do that as they look to get back near the level where they were at. But in an away end that enjoyed themselves all afternoon as they outsung the four home stands, it was those two names who stood out as welcome additions.