On a day when Cristiano Ronaldo's return to United, and subsequent brace in a 3-1 win over Newcastle United, was the dominant story, the defending champion delivered a scarcely needed reminder it is not to be ignored.

City dictated matters at King Power Stadium, though Pep Guardiola's side lacked a ruthlessness that the man it was reportedly set to sign prior to him returning to United continues to display.

Yet the instrumental Silva made the telling impact in the 62nd minute, his goal enough to seal the points against a Leicester side whose threat was not consistent enough to merit any share of the spoils.

Guardiola's men had the better of the first-half opportunities as Kasper Schmeichel was forced to keep out a Gabriel Jesus header after fine work from Silva, who later saw an effort deflected wide before Jack Grealish cleared the crossbar.

However, City would have fallen behind two minutes into the second half if not for the woodwork, Harvey Barnes clipping the crossbar with a header from Jamie Vardy's right-wing cross.

Vardy rounded Ederson and fired home from a tight angle but was correctly flagged offside after latching on to Wilfred Ndidi's throughball.

Ferran Torres failed to squeeze a low effort inside the near post after he was sent through on goal but City's dominance of possession was eventually rewarded thanks in part to a defensive error.

Leicester centre-back Caglar Soyuncu could only succeed in diverting Joao Cancelo's shot from outside the box into the path of Silva to poke home from point-blank range.

Schmeichel tipped over a swerving effort from Kyle Walker and City survived a late scare as Ederson denied Ademola Lookman following a counter, the visitors holding firm and keeping pace with new leader United, both clubs seemingly set to play centre stage in the title race.