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Premier League: Lucious Leicester leave Leeds for dust

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4 weeks ago

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Leeds 1-4 Leicester: Win at Elland Road see’s Foxes move to second in the table

 

Leicester made it 5 wins from 7 in the Premier League to go 2nd in the table after an emphatic 4-1 win at Elland Road against Leeds United.

Leeds were without Kalvin Phillips for the successive game as Jamie Shackleton stepped into midfield for his first Premier League start and Liam Cooper returned to the defence.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers is having to rotate his squad whilst dealing with an extensive injury list which still keeps out key personnel from selection.

The Foxes shifted to a 3-4-3 affording fringe players Marc Albrighton, Nampalys Mendy and Christian Fuchs rare starts, whilst the lack of natural options at left-back opened the door for Luke Thomas to make his first Premier League start of the season after an impressive cameo in Greece on Thursday night.

It was a ferocious start at Elland Road, with the conditions playing a major part.

Patrick Bamford was presented with a glorious chance within the first 2 minutes, but his header fell straight into the palms of Kasper Schmeichel after a pull-back from on-loan Winger Jack Harrison.

Seconds later, a defensive mix up between German Defender Robin Koch and French Goalkeeper Illan Meslier presented Jamie Vardy with the chance to put the ball on the plate for the onrushing Harvey Barnes, who rolled the ball into an empty net.

The pair linked up well after another defensive mistake from Koch allowed Vardy to thread a ball through to Barnes, but Meslier made a good save.

The ex-England international was heavily involved in Leicester’s second. Youri Tielemans initially starting the move, shifting the ball out-wide to wing-back Marc Albrighton who delivered a teasing cross to Vardy, who’s saved header fell to Tielemans, allowing the Belgian to double the Foxes lead.

Leicester were playing with a ferocity and dynamism going forward, whilst being solid and secure at the back, with Mendy and Tielemans controlling things in midfield.

They went into the break with a comfortable 2-0 lead, but an unintentional Stuart Dallas goal 2 minutes into the second-half provided an avenue back into the game for Bielsa’s men.

Leeds came close to levelling the score after a sumptuous effort from Spaniard Pablo Hernandez rattled the post and were by far the better side in the second half.

But two second-half substitutions from Rodgers, in the way of James Maddison and Cengiz Under, combined to set-up Vardy to extend Leicester’s lead, giving the Foxes some much needed breathing space.

Leicester’s victory was confirmed when Mateusz Klich fouled James Maddison in the box, providing Tielemans with the rare opportunity of a penalty after Vardy was subbed off. The Belgian tucked it home to ensure Rodger’s side left Yorkshire with all 3 points.

That’s now 4 wins from 4 in League and Europe, with the opportunity to go top of the league when they face Wolves on Sunday.

It’s been an impressive start to the season for Leicester. Despite some pre-season suggestion they’ll struggle after long-term injury and star asset sales, Rodger’s has found a role for every member of his squad using a 3-4-3 system.

Star players, long-term veterans and young talent all have a place within a system which gets the best out of every player.

If Rodger’s can be economical with squad rotation during what will be a hectic schedule, then the Foxes have the ability to improve on last season’s 5th place finish.

 

We hope you enjoyed the article ‘Premier League: Lucious Leicester leave Leeds for dust.’ What did you make of the Foxes performance tonight? Do you think they will get top four this season? Let us know!

 

Billy is ½ of NCFC podcast The Revere End. You can follow them on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook @therevereend and listen to their podcast on Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts.

 

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Billy is the founder of Norwich City podcast, The Revere End. He also contributes weekly articles for MyFootballWriter, producing predominantly tactical and analytical content.

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