After watching 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers widen the gap to 12 points with a 1-0 victory over West Ham United, 19th-placed Leicester fell to a meek defeat at Etihad Stadium.

Jack Grealish scored his first Premier League goal since December 2023 in just the second minute, then Omar Marmoush, playing as a striker with Erling Haaland injured, added a second for City.

Van Nistelrooy admitted that the Foxes are now playing for pride, with just 24 points available for his side.

"We can be real about it, 12 points with eight games to play... It's a very big difference, too much," he said.

"We have to focus game to game and on presenting ourselves in the best possible way. That is the main target now.

"Before the game, I mentioned that the gap was already big. 

"I told the players that in the remaining moments we have at this level, we have to make the most of it, no matter the table or the score in the game."

Asked about Leicester's goalscoring issues, the Dutchman, who scored 95 Premier League goals for Manchester United during his playing career, said: "Ironic, isn't it? 

"It's hard for all of us. We're working, we're trying things. We want to improve, the two goals we conceded were our own mistakes and you can't afford that, especially away at City. Scoring goals is a problem, the ball doesn't seem to go in.

"When you're not scoring, losing games ... a bad start is extra hard to recover from. The gap is huge now, it's a challenge.

"Nevertheless, we have eight games to play and we have to represent ourselves in the best possible way and that's a challenge."