Leicester vs Manchester City: Jury still out on whether Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi can be mean machine

For an hour, the City defenders were aided by Ranieri playing Vardy on his own up front

Eliaquim Mangala signed for Manchester City in a £42m deal (Getty)

Rugby union lore has it that forwards win games, backs just determine by how much. In cricket, with 20 wickets to take, bowlers win tests, not batsmen. And so it is with football. The glamour boys, the strikers, again steal the spotlight, but it it the defenders who earn titles.

Only once since 2000 have the Premier League champions conceded more than a goal a game, Manchester United in 2012-13. Most seasons the trophy goes to the meanest defence. Last season Chelsea, who finished eight points clear, had the best defensive record conceding 32 goals. The previous campaign Manchester City’s haul of 102 goals scored attracted the attention, but they also had the second-best defensive unit, conceding 37. Two years prior City’s title was built on the best defence, a miserly 29 goals against.

The rock of those back fours was Vincent Kompany, but this season that foundation has suffered structural weakness and as a result City’s defence has too often cracked. In the eight league matches in which the Belgian has started City have conceded only one league goal, scored by Cameron Jerome for Norwich in October. In the ten when he has been absent prior to last night they had let in 19. All of which added up to 20 goals against in 18 matches, not the statistic of a title-winning back four.

With Kompany’s troublesome calf - first injured against Juventus in September, suffering another injury on Saturday, one likely to keep him out for a month, the onus is on Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi to finally live up to their status as football’s most expensive defensive pairing - and dispel the criticism that they are also its most overpriced.

The £70m-plus pair have both looked fine players when in partnership with Kompany but poor when in tandem, That is partly because, as was pointed out in these pages recently by Danny Higginbottom, they both like to attack the ball. The best partnerships (such as England’s Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand), have one player who does that, and one who, like Kompany, prefers to drop off.

For an hour last night they were aided last night by Claudio Ranieri’s decision to play Jamie Vardy on his own up front, rather than as part of a front two. In the first period in particular, as the hosts struggled to gain a foothold, Vardy was isolated. Mangala and Otamendi are both solid in the air and whoever was nearest Vardy challenged for the long balls regularly hoofed towards the striker, with the other ready to mop up if needed, which was not often.

On the ground Vardy was more of a test. The Manchester City defenders, while not as classy in possession as, say, John Stones, are competent on the ball and Vardy’s harrying did not worry them. When he ran at them, though, it was a different matter. Mangala had the pace to match Vardy but Otamendi found his feet too quick in the tackle and on the flat.

Twice in the opening half Vardy skipped by him, and while the attacks came to naught Otamendi was concerned enough to plough through him with an old-school tackle soon after the break. Vardy, though, will have dealt with much worse in non-League and simply got up for more.

The arrival of Leonardo Ulloa gave Vardy support and soon after he went by Otamendi to finally stretch Joe Hart. However, he has been under the weather this Christmas and the usually relentless striker began to show signs of tiredness.

Mangala easily held him off as they chased a through ball while Otamendi, for the first time in the night, beat him to a pass. The Argentine then turned Vardy to make himself space before ruining his first polished play of the match by thumping his clearance at Riyhad Mahrez. The loose ball flew to Ulloa who a panicked Mangala immediately clattered. Suddenly the absence of Kompany’s calming presence seemed acute.

With Hart making a decent save from Christian Fuchs’ free-kick no harm was done, but the incident confirmed too much should not be read into this clean sheet, the pair’s first without Kompany’s assistance this season. Otamendi’s subsequent attempt to get Huth into trouble by pretending the defender had elbowed him did him no credit either.

At the weekend Manuel Pellegrini suggested Manchester City may have to accept Kompany will miss many more games this season. If that is the case he seems likely to be reliant on this pair for it is hard to imagine City allowing the manager to buy another £30m centre-half, especially with his tenure so insecure.

Maybe the realisation that they are no longer competing for one place will help Mangala and Otamendi settle. Good defensive partnerships are based on compatibility, but also confidence and understanding. Keeping a hitherto rampant Leicester City at bay on their own ground will build belief while playing together regularly will increase their mutual awareness.

“I am pleased with the defence,” said Pellegrini. “We were very consistent against a team that normally scores and has strikers like Vardy and Mahrez in very good form. We did not give them many chances to score and it is important we [continue to] defend the way we did tonight.”

Mangala and Otamendi are unlikely to ever command a place in City legend to match that of Mike Doyle and Tommy Booth, or Kompany himself, but they could yet do the job for Pellegrini this season.