Young Foxes Fall To PL2 Defeat
Following three successive Premier League 2 defeats, Leicester deployed a 3-4-3 formation, with the returning Ali Reghba and debutant Harry McKirdy either side of centre forward Jake Wakeling.
And it was Wakeling who had the first sighting of goal inside the opening minute. He drove forward and unleashed a powerful drive from distance that was narrowly off target.
Despite Leicester's strong start, the visitors went ahead on six minutes. Ben Knight cut inside onto his left and saw his shot deflect off Johnly Yfeko and loop into the net.
McKirdy looked to respond for the Foxes, striking just past the post. Another chance came and went when Yfeko rose highest from Sammy Braybrooke's set-play and was close to finding the far corner.
However, the away side doubled their lead just after the halfway point of the first period. Danny Simpson, gaining more match minutes, was adjudged to have brought down Samuel Edozie in the penalty box, with Felix Nmecha stepping up and dispatching the spot kick, despite Jakub Stolarczyk diving the right way.
Man City looked to increase their advantage via Edozie, who cut inside and saw his attempt deflected wide, before Nmecha headed James McAtee's free-kick well over the crossbar.
With eight minutes to go until the break, they did add the third. Liam Delap got in behind the Foxes' defence and fired a left-footed effort past Stolarczyk.
Further opportunities for the hosts were few and far between, though a fast-paced run from McKirdy brought a shot that failed to trouble James Trafford.
Back at the other end, Knight found Adrián Bernabé racing into the area but he could not find the target when latching onto the cross and nor could Nmecha, who sent the ball across the face of goal.
A fourth goal came just before half-time as Delap managed to find the bottom corner from the edge of the area, despite a packed penalty area in front of him.
Leicester came out for the second half on the front foot and Wakeling soon had a shot blocked in the box, before McKirdy flashed a shot wide of target.
Edozie continued to look dangerous, however, and led a Manchester City counter attack by weaving past a couple of challenges before firing wide of the far post. He then hit a powerful effort that had to be punched away by Stolarczyk, ahead of McAteer getting a block in to stop Nmecha's effort, while Knight hit the side-netting after being slid in.
A period of Foxes pressure followed, ending with Cole Dasilva curling an effort which came back off the upright, while Will Russ forced a diving save from James Trafford when he headed Braybrooke's corner towards goal.
Wakeling sprinted through soon after and called Trafford into action again, before Russ, an aerial presence after coming on as a substitute, was again stopped by the Man City 'keeper.
Although Edozie and McAteer combined, with the latter's shot falling wide of the near post, it was the home side creating the majority of the second half opportunities. And when Wakeling won a free-kick right on the edge of the area, Dasilva's set play had to be smartly dealt with by Trafford, tipping the ball over the bar.
But with just under 10 minutes to play, the Citizens added a fifth. Substitute Alexander Robertson poked the ball home after some neat interplay from the visiting side.
Nmecha scored the sixth goal five minutes later, finding the net for the second time on the night with an arrowed strike from distance.
Leicester did grab a consolation goal in the final minute when Wakeling was brought down in the area and stepped up to find the corner from the resulting spot-kick, but it was the away side who took all three points.
Major moment…
After a positive start, the first goal falling the way of the visitors really set the tone for the rest of the game and led to a dominant performance from Premier League 2 Division 1 leaders Manchester City.
Where does it leave us?
Leicester City's Development Squad stay in 11th position in the Premier League 2 Division 1 standings with 15 points from 16 games played.
Coming up…
The young Foxes will meet Brighton & Hove Albion Under-23s at LCFC Training Ground on Monday 22 February for matchday 17 in Premier League 2 Division 1 (7pm GMT kick-off).
The details…
City: Stolarczyk (c); Clark, Simpson, Yfeko; McAteer, Hulme (Abdulai 60'), Braybrooke, DaSilva; Reghba (Russ 60'), McKirdy (Ewing 66'); Wakeling.
Subs not used: Doherty, Shade.
Goal: Wakeling pen 90'.