Leicester City fell to a tough 2-0 defeat to top-of-the-table Manchester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Though the Foxes defended stoutly throughout the majority of the 90 minutes, the Sky Blues maintained their lofty position in the Premier League. Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring at the end of the first half, finishing off an excellent team move.
Kevin De Bruyne blasted home a second only minutes into the second period to ensure the visitors' winning run in all competitions stretched to sixteen consecutive games.
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Foxes boss Claude Puel only made one alteration to the team that earned a point away to Stoke City last time out as Marc Albrighton was introduced to the starting line-up in place of forward Shinji Okazaki.
Pep Guardiola meanwhile was forced into two changes. The suspended Nicolás Otamendi dropped out in place of captain Vincent Kompany, whilst Sergio Agüero, who was reported to have suffered dizziness on international duty, was replaced by Gabriel Jesus.
Controversial call
It only took three minutes for the game to spark into life in the East Midlands. Midfielder Vincente Iborra looked to play through team-mate Jamie Vardy. The Englishman appeared to be racing through on goal before he was hacked down by Kompany. There were calls for a red card from the home crowd but referee Graham Scott only produced the yellow to the relief of the Belgian.
The visitors soon settled into the clash and dominated possession. The Foxes though continued to look dangerous and Kompany again had to intervene to clear a clever Riyad Mahrez cross away from the waiting Vardy.
Kasper Schmeichel had to be alert as David Silva aimed for the top corner from just inside the area after connecting with a Leroy Sané centre - the Dane was able to tip over well. Raheem Sterling then went extremely close but was inches away from heading home into an empty net.
Injury worries for Guardiola but City strike before the break
For all their dominance at the King Power Stadium, the Sky Blues' afternoon took a worrying turn. Falling to the floor attempting to halt a Leicester break, John Stones instantly signalled to the bench and had to be replaced by Eliaquim Mangala.
It did not appear to hamper them too much though and as half-time drew close, they finally unpicked the Foxes' defence. Sterling played an excellent one-two with De Bruyne on the edge of the penalty area who in turn found David Silva down the left-flank. The Spaniard then cut the ball across goal to the unmarked Jesus who duly tapped into the empty net.
Chances flow at the King Power Stadium
The second-half kicked-off exactly how the first had ended, with City creating plenty of chances, it was however Leicester City seizing the attacking initiative though.
Puel's men could have been level as Harry Maguire latched onto Vardy's knock-down, but could only crack his shot off of the post as opposed to finding the net.
The East-Midlanders were to rue that missed chance only seconds later as the Premier League leaders doubled their advantage. Attacking via a breath-taking counter-attack, De Bruyne picked up the ball on the edge of the area. The Belgian took a touch, came inside and unleashed a fierce drive that flew past Schmeichel and into the top corner.
City soar at the top of the Premier League
The visitors looked to stretch their lead even further as Schmeichel denied twice denied Jesus from close-range.
Manchester City from then on looked comfortable and were rarely threatened by Leicester who will be disappointed to have suffered their first defeat in seven games.
As a result, the Foxes remain in 12th position in the Premier League table ahead of next weekend's trip to West Ham United. Manchester City meanwhile have notched their 10th Premier League win in succession and eight-point lead at the top of the standings.