Laporte makes long-awaited return as City win at Sheffield United

Aymeric Laporte made his first Manchester City appearance since August when he started in Tuesday's 1-0 win at Sheffield United.

The French defender was victim of a crunching challenge from Mo Besic in the opening period but dusted himself down to complete 78 minutes in South Yorkshire.

Laporte was withdrawn from the action shortly after substitute Sergio Aguero scored the only goal of the game. The Argentinian had been on the pitch for six minutes when he tapped home an easy opportunity created by the unrelenting Kevin De Bruyne.

Gabriel Jesus, who was taken off for Aguero, had a penalty saved by Dean Henderson in the first half.

Laporte, 25, was out of commission for nearly five months with knee ligament damage before his midweek return. He suffered the injury against Brighton & Hove Albion just days after being named in his first France squad since March 2017.

Laporte's absence was regularly cited as a key reason for Manchester City's limp Premier League title defense this term. In Laporte's stead, Fernandinho was shunted into the backline, where he was partnered by Nicolas Otamendi, John Stones, Eric Garcia, or even fellow midfielder Rodri.

The former Athletic Bilbao center-back was picked in a back-three with Fernandinho and Otamendi for the trip to Bramall Lane, with Kyle Walker and Oleksandr Zinchenko operating as wing-backs. The Blades were only allowed one shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.