Claude Puel says Leicester deserved to beat Manchester City

Claude Puel insists his Leicester side thoroughly deserved to beat Manchester City as they dented their title hopes on Boxing Day.

Ricardo Pereira's fine strike gave Leicester a 2-1 win at the King Power, moving his side up to seventh and dropping Manchester City to third, seven points off leaders Liverpool.

Puel says Leicester have put in good performances without getting the results of late, before getting their rewards with a fine 1-0 win at Chelsea and the victory on Boxing Day.

• Match report
• As it happened

He told Sky Sports: "I think we deserve the result, because I think we get more chances than City. It's a fantastic result for the team, a good reward for the mentality and togetherness since the beginning of the season.

"It was difficult sometimes because we played good football with good performances but without the result, because we conceded a goal early or didn't manage the game well enough."

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Having won just one of their previous six before the Chelsea victory, Leicester can now look towards breaking into the top six, sitting just four points behind Manchester United.

"It was important to have this good reward because I think our play has improved a lot, the team has improved, and the performances have been consistent and good.

"We know in the Premier League it's good to have the balance between performance and result. I think this squad deserve more.

"It's difficult to have the ball, but it's good to have the mentality of patience, to defend together, and to use good ball recovery. Quality in the first touch and first pass."

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