Leicester were grand favourites in this home fixture vs. Cardiff. Enzo Maresca had before the kick off seen his team win three in three, and expectations from fans were to see the team continue to deliver and bring home another win.
Mads Hermansen was back in goal, Kelechi Iheanacho kept his place up front. Dennis Praet was absent and not in the squad, Wilfred Ndidi starting as the rest of the line-up was as against Huddersfield.
Leicester started well and had full controll, pressed Cardiff towards their own goal and early on could have taken the lead from a Kelechi Iheanacho screamer, but it hit the post. A good attitude did see Leicester produce more and then in the 36th minute Leicester took the lead with a fantastic goal from Wanya Marcal-Madivadua. This looked the perfect scenario as Leicester were not seen as conceding goals at this point.
But to leave Aaron Ramsey alone in front of goal, or even a bit far out, is not a good idea. He was left totally alone towards the end of first half, and his shot from distance was a massive beauty. The shot was just fantastic as it hit the right upper corner, and one very special, no chance for Mads Hermansen to save. Sadly it went in behind Hermansen, as everyhting became even at half time.
Cardiff came out 2nd half and took off with a totally different approach, being the better team in the first minutes, but after a number of missed chances from The Bluebirds, and also good defending from Leicester, it was still 1-1 as Leicester again took over, as they looked the team to win.
Enzo Maresca gave Cesare Casadei his debut this evening and what a debut that turned out to be. The loan man from Chelsea showed early on that he knows the role of the offensive midfielder as he took over from Wilfred Ndidi. Jamie Vardy came on a few minutes later, then it all changed. Marc Albrighton came on a bit later.
A push forward in stoppage time from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, passing the ball to Jamie Vardy as he in a way got the ball further to Cesare Casadei, made a dream debut possible as the young Italian scored with a resolute shot from close range as the crowd went bananas.
Nothing ends before the fat lady sings, and it was just a massive relief to see that Cesare shot going in, and doing it in stoppage time was just fantastic. Leicester picked up three new points as this season start is one of a kind, Leicester have never before won their four first competitive games in a season.
- Positives
- 65% possession leading to yet another win
- A wonderful debut for Cesare Casadei
- Marcal-Madivadua scoring and contributing
- 3 points earned, well deserved on a struggling day
- A massive crowd of 31,595, fantastic support
- Keeping the pressure and fighting on for points, just fantastic
- Negatives
- Kelechi Iheanacho being so close, but not able to convert
- Sloppy start to the 2nd half
- No defending on the shot of Aaron Ramsey
- Dewsbury-Hall not at his very best
Player Ratings: Hermansen 6, Pereira 6, Doyle 6, Vestergaard 6, Faes 6, Winks 6, Dewsbury-Hall 6, Marcal-Madivadua 7, Iheanacho 6, Ndidi 6, Mavididi 7 Subs: Casadei, Vardy, Albrighton
- Leicester City, Man of the Match
- Wanya Marcal-Madivadua
Match Stats (H/A)
- Possession: 65 / 35
- Shots on Target: 6 / 4
- Corners: 10 / 4
- Fouls: 11 / 10
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