Jack Grealish and Omar Marmoush were on the scoresheet as Manchester City beat Leicester City 2-0 at the Etihad.
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Manchester City enjoyed a routine night as they cruised past Leicester City at the Etihad
Manchester City moved back into fourth in the Premier League table as first-half goals from Jack Grealish and Omar Marmoush helped them cruise past a hapless Leicester City at the Etihad.
While thousands of City fans stayed in the concourse until the ninth minute, Grealish wasted no time in ending his long Premier League drought in front of goal, sweeping in a finish inside two minutes to open the scoring.
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Marmoush doubled the advantage when Mads Hermansen dropped the ball at his feet and City were in cruise control after that against a dismal side who offered no attacking threat.
All action Lillo
One of the unintended benefits of Guardiola being banned for this game was the chance to see Juanma Lillo back on the touchline and directing matters for City.
The 59-year-old took charge of a few games when Guardiola had back surgery last year and he is an animated and entertaining figure when let loose to take control.
That's a side we don't usually see of Guardiola's right-hand man but he has the trust of the manager to take the team in his absence. There didn't seem to be an awful lot of communication between the dugout and Guardiola high in the stands on Wednesday.
Lillo was taking charge of a lot of issues, holding early tactical discussions with Marmoush and Matheus Nunes, but he is at his most animated when he sees things he doesn't like. There was a vigorous shake of the head halfway through the first half and then after one move broke down he stormed back to his dugout crossing his arms together, clearly angry with something he didn't want to see again.
But he showed when he was happy again and he did just that after one second-half move. Grealish picked up the ball centrally and drove into the Leicester box, before flicking a pass inside to the underlapping Nico O'Reilly. The left-back found space with a central run and although the shot was blocked, Lillo liked the intent of both men.
Bobb isn't forgotten
There was a big cheer from the North Stand around the hour mark that might have woken a few up inside the Etihad. Oscar Bobb was the subject of the affection as City fans got their first sighting of him at this ground this season.
The Norwegian has primed for a big impact after a brilliant pre-season and featured in the Community Shield before an injury in training ruled him out for several months.
He is finally back and available and although Guardiola said minutes would be difficult to come by with all his wingers fit and available, the injury to Erling Haaland opened up a place in the squad. He got his return with six minutes to go to a chant of 'ole ole ole ole Oscar Bobb Bobb Bobb', a sign the City fans are desperate to see more of him.
Guardiola watch
There isn't a lot to report on Guardiola, who looked to be sat just outside a hospitality box in the West Stand. He wasn't visible to many and when the cameras did pan to him he was keeping his emotions in check.
Twice the director cut to the City boss as he took a sip of water and then again with his phone in his hand. He said he didn't plan to communicate with the bench during the game and he looked to be true to his word. There was no obvious sign of Guardiola sending messages down to his staff.
Protest hits the mark
The protest organised by the 1894 fans' group has been covered elsewhere by the MEN but the effectiveness of it was clear. Thousands of seats remained empty when the game kicked-off and the celebrations that greeted Grealish's goal were pretty subdued.
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When the ninth minute hit the floodgates opened in the stands, with supporters pouring into the ground from every concourse. Chants of 'City, City' and 'we're really not here' greeted their arrival.
It was an impressive protest and it should have caught the attention of City executives. Whether they do anything about it is another matter entirely.