Enzo Maresca ringed the changes when taking on Millwall this afternoon in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Starting debut for Ben Nelson as he partnered Conor Coardy in the heart of defence.
Good also to see Marcal Madivadua back from start. Cesare Casadei, Yunus Akgun, Tom Cannon and Ricardo Pereira were the players left from the starting eleven in the 4-1 home win vs. Huddersfield last week.
Millwall at home is no walk in the park as The Lions showed their intentions from the first minute. Leicester struggled to keep the home team quiet, but luckily no goals scored.
It was Leicester that opened the scoring. In the 16th minute Leicester took the lead from splended Cesare Casadei header. Marc Albrighton was the servant with his assist perfectly placed.
Millwall pushed on, but attempts were stopped. Jacub Stolarczyk managed to save what was coming. Then in the 39th minute Cesare Casadei found Ricardo Pereira with a perfect pass, as Pereira’s shot from close range was well placed, Leicester were 2-0 up.
Leicester had a 2-0 lead after the first half, but it was again Millwall setting the pace in 2nd half. Duncan Watmore scored in the 56th minute, as Leicester again felt the pressure.
Then in the 61st minute, Callum Doyle showed what a long, direct and clever pass can do to a high pressing defence, finding Tom Cannon perfectly as the Ireland u.21 interntional made a great run, turned Millwall goalkeeper Sarkic and placed the ball in the net, 3-1.
Enzo Maresca decided to make a few changes, taking off Marcal Madivadua, giving minutes to debutant Tawanda Maswanhise, and also bringing on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for Yunus Akgun.
With Millwall pressing higher in the field it opened up for Leicester to make counter attacks. But instead of converting their chances, Millwall had a last dance. Dutch midfielder Zian Flemming scored after 86 minutes, and it was a bit of tension towards the end, but Leicester managed to see it through and keep their lead.
Looking at the game in the back mirror you can say that coming away with a win from The Den, without playing a full first team, is a great result. Leicester are in the 4th round of the FA Cup.
- Positives
- Casadei scoring and assisting, making his day complete
- A lot of minutes given to fringe men who did their job
- Tom Cannon scoring, great for a forward to get goals
- Good debut from Ben Nelson, looks as a man to trust in the future
- Minutes to Marcal Madivadua and also a debut for Tawanda Maswanhise
- Jacub Stolarczyk being tested and showing Leicester do have a good cover
- Negatives
- Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall coming on an losing the ball at crucial places
Player Ratings: Stolarczyk 6, Doyle 6, Coady 6, Nelson 6, Pereira 6, Casadei 7, Yunus 6, Choudhury 6, Marcal 6, Cannon 6, Albrighton 7 Subs: Dewsbury-Hall, Maswanhise,
- Leicester City, Man of the Match
- Cesare Casadei
Match Stats (H/A)
- Possession: 47 / 53
- Shots on Target: 9 / 8
- Corners: 6 / 3
- Fouls: 8 / 12
Leave a Reply