The four goals scored in the span of four minutes eased some stress upon Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers after the club had suffered six consecutive defeats.
Leicester: Brendan Rodgers stated that Leicester is turning the corner following the James Maddison-led 4-1 win over Nottingham Forest which eased the stress on the Foxes boss and drove their arch-rivals towards the lowest position in the Premier League on Monday.
Rodgers’s team defeated Forest away by scoring three goals in less than 10 minutes during the first second half of the game at King Power Stadium.
Maddison hit both sides of a fantastic finishing from Harvey Barnes and Patson Daka scored in the second period in the second half as Leicester beat the Reds at the first attempt this season in the eighth attempt.
Leicester had suffered defeat in the previous six games and let Rodgers try to avoid being sacked. dismissal following his criticism of the team’s Thai owners for not backing his transfer request.
The victory in this East Midlands derby should give Rodgers at the very least breathing room and see Leicester being one step ahead of the bottom of the pyramid Forest on the goal difference.
“When you aren’t winning games it reflects on you. It was a terrible summer. That’s just the reality of it. It continued to be the case until the beginning of football season.” Rodgers said.
“I just wanted to remind my players of their potential and keep supporting them. They are resilient. We needed to make the corner and tonight we achieved that.”
Woeful Forest is now without winning in their last six matches and has lost five in a row, and has conceded sixteen goals over the last four games.
This shambles has increased the pressure on Steve Cooper, who took the reins when Forest finished last in the Championship this season and brought Forest into the Premier League for the first time since 1999.
It’s extremely unfair to Cooper to let him go immediately after his promotion however Forest the owner Evangelos Marinakis would have hoped for better results following the approval of an investment of 21 new players during the final week of the season.
“It is yet another disappointing outcome There’s no doubt. We had a strategy but we weren’t adequate in the duel which was disappointing” Cooper said.
“There was a time when I thought we could be more competitive However, I’m certainly not looking at the guys and thinking that they aren’t interested. They’re just a young group that is trying to get together.”
Maddison was the main catalyst immediately from the beginning when he threw a fit at the host’s defense, but most importantly Forest goalkeeper Taiwo Awoniyi smashed the post following his run into Morgan Gibbs-White’s defensive-splitting strike.
‘Outstanding Maddison’
It was the moment that changed everything that was decisive Leicester gained control by scoring two goals within a short time.
More than just a bit of luck in Maddison’s 25th-minute opener when he took advantage of Jesse Lingard’s blunder to clear an unorthodox 20-yard strike, which caused a spectacular bounce from Scott McKenna as it looped over Dean Henderson.
If it was luck the fact is that there is no doubt about the greatness of Barnes’s performance in the 27th minute.
The ball was picked up by Vardy’s passing, and Barnes struck at the edge of the zone and smashed a stunning shot into the corner, as Rodgers lifted his arms in celebration.
Maddison was providing England director Gareth Southgate a reminder of his talent in the lead-up to his participation in the World Cup after being left out of the current Nations League squad.
In regards to Maddison’s absence from international competition, Rodgers said: “It’s an absolute shame for both the country and Maddison. James is an incredible player, and I’m hoping that he is able to get in the squad.”
Maddison struck the blow that knocked out Forest at the end of 35 minutes of the game with a superb free-kick, which flew through Henderson in the 25th minute from 25 yards.
In the director’s boxes, Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha was smiling broadly that suggested Rodgers might have benefited from the luxury of a few days off.
On the other hand, Cooper was unable to keep his head up in despair while Leicester supporters chanted “you’re getting sacked in the morning”.
Maddison was still in the middle of a battle with Forest during the second half as his low ball was placed to allow Daka to strike a daring backheeled finish through Henderson in the 73rd minute.
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image source: Firstpost
