What happened...
Cameron Humphreys’ late equaliser earned City a 1-1 draw with Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium.
The Blues dominated the ball throughout the evening but it wasn’t until Humphreys’ composed finish in the 80th minute that they were on level terms after Leicester’s early goal.
The first serious chance of the evening came as Paolo Fernandes’ whipped free-kick was saved low down by Leicester stopper Daniel Iversen.
The Blues found themselves behind moments later when Leicester’s Yohan Benalouane attacked a whipped corner and his header deflected over a helpless Billy O’Brien.
Despite City’s control of the ball, O’Brien remained the busier ‘keeper as the Foxes proved effective on the counter-attack.
Simon Davies experimented with a change in shape in the second half as Brahim Diaz moved to the ‘false-nine’ role and was flanked by substitutes Aaron Nemane and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts.
This gave full-backs Pablo Maffeo and Angelino more space and it was they who combined for two of City’s biggest chances. In both cases it was Angelino who crossed from the left with Maffeo turning the first wide and hitting the bar with the second.
Sheer pressure made the difference in the end as Humphreys sent Iversen the wrong way and sealed the point that City deserved.
What it means...
City have 11 points from their first six matches in the Premier League 2.
City’s UEFA Youth League side will face Celtic before the first teams face off on Wednesday 28th September.
Man of the match...
Pablo Maffeo - He’s renowned for his all-action style and City’s Spanish right-back demonstrated that throughout an evening on which he could easily have been the match-winner.
Diligent defending was matched by explosive overlapping runs and a wide range of passing when he took up the inverted role that is becoming expected of City’s full-backs.
Key moment...
Aaron Nemane’s introduction at half-time gave the Blues a new lease of life.
The speedy winger was determined to get in behind the Leicester defence and can be a vital outlet for this team.
How they lined up...
Goalkeeper Billy O’Brien continued with the captain’s armband.
The experienced defence of Pablo Maffeo, Cameron Humphreys, Tosin Adarabioyo and Angelino maintained their roles after last week’s victory at Sunderland.
James Horsfield sat behind Rodney Kongolo and new first teamer Brahim Diaz in centre midfield. Paolo Fernandes and Javairo Dilrosun were the wingers either side of central striker Lukas Nmecha.
Subs: Marcus Wood, Kjetil Haug, Jacob Davenport, Aaron Nemane, Isaac Buckley-Ricketts
Leicester: Iversen, Johnson Pascanu, Kaba Sherif, Moore, Benalouane, Barnes, Miles, Mitchell, Muskwe, Martis
