Finally, a Manchester City youngster was given an opportunity and he seized it with both hands | OneFootball

Manchester City needed a win desperately against Leicester City yesterday. They got that with a 2-nil victory over Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side. It wasn’t a vintage performance from Pep Guardiola’s side by any stretch. But they picked up all three points and that’s all that matters. There were plenty of positives to take from the win for the world champions. One of those was the performance of James McAtee. He has suffered from a lack of opportunities this season. But his moment finally came yesterday and he seized it with both hands.

READ MORE: City player ratings from Manchester City’s win over Leicester City.

James McAtee replaced Phil Foden in the 66th minute of yesterday’s match. The game was in the balance as Leicester City were pushing hard to find an equaliser. McAtee showed during his time on the pitch that he is eager to make a mark at Manchester City. He did exactly that in yesterday’s match. There was a touch of genius to the piece of play that McAtee displayed to set up Manchester City’s second goal. He completely bamboozled a Leicester City defender as his play set up the move which saw Erling Haaland double City’s lead. It was a brilliant piece of play and it showed all of the talent that McAtee possesses.

Speaking after his team’s win over Leicester City Pep Guardiola was full of praise for James McAtee’s performance. Guardiola explained how pleased he was with McAtee’s performance: “Oh a lot. It’s not a doubt, in the past there are things sometimes in the situation we’re living, I have the feeling ‘okay give the responsibility to the senior players, not the young ones’ but sometimes the senior players have more pressure than the young ones who have nothing to defend and just want to show their space in world football. I had the feeling before the game that if I had to make a substitution the first one would be James. I felt it. He can play in the wing, pockets, striker, three positions up top and what I was pleased with was every action he did was good.”

The hope is that James McAtee’s cameo appearance can be the moment that kick starts his Manchester City career. He is ready for more opportunities and he showed that yesterday.