Manchester City earned a much-needed 2-0 win over Leicester on Sunday to take some of the heat off Pep Guardiola and his players.

It's been a nightmare run for the reigning Premier League champions, who have uncharacteristically lurched from one crisis to another in recent weeks. Guardiola's side have gone from a predictable winning machine to one that looks every bit as vulnerable as any team on the red half of Manchester since 2013.

And any notion that City are back should be tempered with the fact they beat relegation strugglers Leicester who had their chances across a nervy 90 minutes in the East Midlands. The fact that Ruud van Nistelrooy's team put City under such pressure highlighted the vulnerability that still exists among Guardiola's players.

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But a win is a win and City will now be hoping to go on a good run of form with winnable games against West Ham and Salford to come. And what Guardiola did at the full-time whistle indicated that the Catalan is a relieved man who is starting to feel like himself again.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss is famous for giving 'Pep talks' to opposition players on the pitch after a match finishes. Guardiola did exactly that on Sunday when he was seen going over to Leicester's Harry Winks and Jannik Vestergaard, engaging in an animated discussion with the pair.

Both players looked happy to talk with the City manager as he used hand signals to indicate some of his tactical ideas. The 53-year-old then went over to shake hands with Conor Coady before embracing his own players.

City are now up to fifth in the table with their sole aim domestically now to secure a top four finish and a place in next season's Champions League. Any hopes of a fifth consecutive league title are surely long gone, but there is still plenty for this City team to work towards salvaging this season.

The 2023 European champions are at risk of elimination in the Champions League League Phase, but a return to form domestically could help revive their ambitions in that competition.

Guardiola will know that the season can still be saved if they go on to lift a second Champions League next Spring. The hope for City will be that Sunday's win over Leicester is the start of better things to come in 2025.