Gary Neville took aim at Kevin De Bruyne for an apparent dive during the first half of Manchester City's 2-0 Premier League win over Leicester.
De Bruyne has endured a tricky season, as have the majority of his City team-mates. However, they scored first at relegation-threatened Leicester as Savinho opened his account in the Premier League.
A little later on, Pep Guardiola's side had a penalty shout when De Bruyne went down in the Leicester box. Referee Michael Oliver was having none of it, though, and replays showed there didn't look to be a great deal of contact from Jannik Vestergaard.
Former Manchester United captain Neville was on Sky Sports commentary duty for the match, and made his feelings clear. And, to his credit, he did the same with a comparable situation at the other end after half-time.
"He went down too easily,' Neville said after watching De Bruyne go to ground. "You can tell, it was awkward the way he fell.
"You can see he dived from up here. He probably should be booked really, he has tried to con the referee," Neville added. However, he admitted he "wasn't fully against" his own team-mates diving in efforts to win decisions during his own playing days.
Early in the second period, it was Leicester who saw a penalty appeal dismissed. Oliver stood firm as Facundo Buonanotte went to ground after Nathan Ake slid in, but Neville suggested the Argentine should also have gone into the book.
City's dismal recent run continued on Boxing Day when Erling Haaland missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Everton, but Erling Haaland eventually doubled their lead on Sunday after the hosts squandered chances. Ahead of kick-off against Leicester, visiting manager Guardiola insisted his team still had the hunger to turn things around.
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“I want it, everybody wants it,” the Catalan told reporters. “I don’t want to disappoint my people and the fans and everyone who loves this club but when you see the results, I have nothing to say. It’s about how you perform. [Against Everton], in many moments, we were really good knowing the quality of the opponent.
“It’s not just now. It has been since my career started as a player and manager. I have always wanted to please the people and do good in my job. It’s easy to understand."
Leicester dropped into the bottom three after the last round of fixtures, with Ruud van Nistelrooy's side losing at Liverpool after rivals Wolves beat Manchester United earlier in the day. “Everybody knows, and when you look at the [City] team that played [against Everton] and how they played, because I saw the game and saw the previous games as well, I know the quality of that squad, that team, that manager," Van Nistelrooy said of Sunday's opponents.
“I’m focusing on that and the quality that we will face. We have to prepare to make a great performance on our side. Being Leicester, in the moment where we are, we have to be spot on in all the parts of football to get a result."
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