SOCCER ENGLISH FA CUP THIRD ROUND REPLAYS: Manchester City 4 Leicester City 2:SVEN-GORAN Eriksson's return to Eastlands ultimately produced a night of frustration.

The former Manchester City manager’s Leicester City side, however, earned dignity in defeat after subjecting their Premier League opponents to a nerve-shredding finale. Leicester’s was a commendable performance and when Lloyd Dyer made it 3-2 with eight minutes of normal time to play there was a clear sense of the top flight’s second-placed team being rattled.

Roberto Mancini’s team had some difficult moments before they felt the relief of Aleksandar Kolarov’s left-foot strike in the final minute of normal time. Their reward is a fourth-round tie at Notts County that they will like to think will be a much more straightforward affair.

Carlos Tevez, Patrick Vieira and Adam Johnson had put them into a 3-1 lead at half-time – Tevez will also reflect on his second penalty miss in succession, which later squandered a chance to make it 4-1. Yet this was a careless performance at times and Dyer’s breakaway goal led to a tense finish that had barely seemed plausible at the midway point.

The team 13th in the Championship had begun the game with little trepidation and there were times in the first half-hour when they threatened to make it a difficult evening for their opponents. Yet Eriksson’s men also learned you cannot defend so generously at the highest level without being punished.

There was also no question the referee, Mark Halsey, had made a mistake when he awarded the penalty from which Paul Gallagher made it 1-1. Neither Joleon Lescott nor Patrick Vieira appeared to make any contact with Dyer as he cut between them and Halsey’s decision was generous in the extreme.

At that point Leicester were playing with enough spirit to suggest an upset was attainable. They were backed by 6,000 boisterous fans and Gallagher’s penalty provided a swift response to Tevez’s 16th goal of the season. Yet the defending for that opening goal had been poor, Yuki Abe and Jack Hobbs letting Tevez advance, and this was to become a theme of the evening.

For that first goal, Tevez had punished Leicester with a searing right-foot drive, taking his shot early and beating the goalkeeper, Chris Weale, from a difficult angle for another addition to his portfolio of outstanding goals and his early candidacy for player of the season.

Tevez was a constant menace to the defence. The Argentinian forward instigated the move that led to Mancini’s team taking the lead for a second time. His ball was played into Pablo Zabaleta, breaking forward from the right of defence, and the full-back played in David Silva for a first effort, his low shot beating Weale. The defender Souleymane Bamba blocked the ball on the line but the rebound fell kindly for Vieira to turn the ball into an exposed net.

Silva’s influence at City can be gauged by the fact he has won three player-of-the-month awards so far this season and the Spaniard was prominently involved in the home team’s third goal, too. His was a defence-splitting pass, capitalising on some poor positional play from Hobbs to send Johnson clear, and the winger beat the advancing Weale with a confident finish.

Three-one down at half-time, Eriksson’s team were staring at the possibility of a thrashing. Tevez, however, may need to fine-tune his penalty-taking technique. In the 57th minute he had the chance to soothe any lingering nerves in the crowd after running clear from Kolarov’s pass, once again exposing the high line of Leicester’s defence, only for Hobbs to hack him down.

The centre-half was fortunate not to be shown a red card – a point that Mancini made from the touchline. One let-off for Leicester was followed by another as Tevez aimed his penalty low and hard, straight down the middle, and Weale saved with his feet.

Dyer’s goal came after a splendid pass from Abe but Leicester, seeking the equaliser, were vulnerable to the counterattack and Kolarov duly made them pay with for his first goal for City.

• Guardian Service

MANCHESTER CITY:Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, A. Johnson, Y Toure (Jo, 78 mins), Vieira, Milner, Tevez and Silva (Barry, 64mins). Subs not used:Given, K Toure, deJong, Boyata, Tchuimeni-Nimely. Booked:Vieira (75 mins).

LEICESTER CITY:Weale, Hobbs, Bamba, Berner, Naughton, Wellens (Oakley, 46mins), Abe, Gallagher (Moussa, 30mins), Howard (Waghorn, 69mins), King, Dyer. Subs not used:Logan, Neilson, Teixeira and N'quessan. Booked:Dyer (75 mins)

Referee:Mark Halsey (Lancs).