Leicester City 2-0 Leeds United Match Report

  Leeds United were unable to break their winning streak as they lost to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. Two first half goals were enough for the hosts to secure the points against Jesse Marsh’s team, who failed to score again. 

Robin Koch’s goal from Dennis Prior made the score 1-0 before Harvey Barnes continued his scoring streak against Leeds, doubling the lead and securing Leicester a point.

Manager Brendan Rodgers made a few changes to the starting eleven. In the absence of midfielder James Maddison (suspended), Praet came into the game and Jamie Vardy replaced Patson Daka in a 4-3-3 formation.

Leeds showed strong play in the first five minutes and had some possession in the Foxes’ half before City took control of the game and darted forward. However, neither team could trouble Danny Ward or Illan Mesliere in the first quarter, although they tried.

After the whistle, Leeds largely controlled the game for the first 15 minutes, with plenty of possession and pressure in the opposition half. However, chances were limited to free kicks, which the home side made good use of. 

After a bad touch by Mark Rock in defense, the midfielder was unable to get past Jamie Vardy, which led to the first goal of the match for the home side. 

Vardy intercepted the ball and passed it to Dennis Prior. From there, he made a pass to the center of the field and Robin Koch, trying to clear the ball, pushed it unsuccessfully past Illan Mesliere into his own goal. 

The decisive moment came quickly. Vardy was brought down in Leeds’ half but play continued and the ball went to Praeth. His initial pass to Barnes was deflected into his own goal by Koch. Vardy had to receive medical attention while celebrating at the King Power Stadium; fortunately he was allowed to continue and Leicester took the lead. 

About 10 minutes later, Wout Faes saved the goal from Luis Sinisterra’s shot from 25 yards out. Half an hour later, James Justin’s excellent pass from the left flank reached the head of Timothy Castañe, but Diego Llorente managed to head the ball into the goal. 

Just a few minutes later, Sinisterra shot from close to Ward’s left post as Leeds tried to level the scores. Shortly after, Crisencio Summerville, who was later charged with offside, forced Ward to score from a sharp angle.

City had to intercept Leeds’ attacks in the first half, which proved extremely difficult as the home side took a 2-0 lead shortly after Ward’s goal. After a great move by Vardy, he sent the ball to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who passed the ball to Barnes, who laterally kicked the ball into the feet of Mesliere. The academy graduate has since added to his scoring tally to six straight games against the Yorkshire team, five of which he scored for Leicester. 

Ward was alert again in the second half when he managed to stop Liam Cooper after Llorente’s header from around sixteen yards out. Three minutes later, Patrick Bamford hit back with a header and then City successfully repelled another Leeds corner kick. 

At halftime, Marsh made a double substitution. Liam Cooper was returned to the defense in place of Koch, who received a yellow card in the first half, and Rodrigo came on in place of Rocky. 

From Aaronson’s free kick, Diego Llorente acrobatically attempted an overhead kick, but his shot was blocked as he headed toward goal, and Cooper forced Danny Ward to make a save in the ensuing one-on-one. 

Further changes were made by both defenders. Jack Harrison and Joe Gelhardt were replaced by Patrick Bamford and Sinisterra, and the team continued to look to get back into the game. 

Brendan Rodgers was pleased with the two goal advantage and kept his team relatively deep in the second half, offering Leeds good defense when needed and then creating danger with quick counterattacks when possible.

Boubakary Soumare broke through into midfield and executed a free kick into Castaigne’s legs, but the ball was cleared before Meslier was ready to shoot. At the other end, Rasmus Christensen shot from distance after a push from Daniel Amartey.

Rodgers made a double substitution in the 64th minute, with Sumare and Vardy replacing Papi Mendy and Patson Duck. The Zambia striker almost scored in the final minutes, but Praet couldn’t get the ball in with his left foot.

Then came the third substitution of the evening when Praet, who scored the first goal, was replaced. Spanish striker Ayose Perez was introduced. Almost immediately he had a chance to take the lead after a pass from Castagna, but he could not outmuscle Meslier.

Senegal’s Mendy had to cross his arms to parry a shot by Jack Harrison, who came on as a substitute, from a sharp angle. With just under 10 minutes left in regulation time, Dewsbury-Hall needed on-field help after being hit hard in midfield. 

Summerville took a shot on goal that was deflected high and wide, and Cooper with a nod of his head sent the ball to the corner as City continued to fight back. Five minutes before the end of the match, Kelechi Iheanacho was replaced by goalkeeper Barnes, who returned to the bench to much applause.

The Blue and Blue had to endure four minutes of injury time. Ward converted a long-range shot from substitute Mateusz Klich, but that was all Leeds had to offer in the closing stages. City took the three points and did not concede a goal for the third straight season at King Power Stadium.

Substitutes not used: Iversen, Iversen, Thomas, Braybrooke, Vestergaard, Wormleighton

Substitutes not used: Klaesson, Gnonto, Greenwood, Ayling

Scorers:

Bookings:

Match Stats:

Possession

Leicester City 47%
Leeds United 53%

Total Shots

Leicester City 5
Leeds United 14

Shots on Target

Leicester City 1
Leeds United 2

Corners

Leicester City 2
Leeds United 9

Fouls

Leicester City 15
Leeds United 11

Attacks

Leicester City 99
Leeds United 115

Dangerous Attacks

Leicester City 41
Leeds United 33

Referee: Peter Bankes

Venue: King Power Stadium 

Player of the Match: Danny Ward (Leicester City)