Leicester Back To Winning Ways With Victory Over Brighton
In front of new first team manager Brendan Rodgers, who was watching on from the stands on Filbert Way, First Team Coaches Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler guided the Foxes to three points against the Seagulls.
After efforts from Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans, City capitalised on their early dominance by taking a 1-0 lead thanks to Demarai Gray, who slotted beyond Mat Ryan to score his fourth goal of the campaign.
Maintaining their tempo, Gray was unfortunate not to grab a second of the game when Ben Chilwell raced down the left wing and set up the City No.7, who was denied by a fine stop from Ryan.
Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was then called into action on 27 minutes, tipping Pascal Groß’ strike over the bar after it took a deflection off England international centre-back Harry Maguire.
Gray, buoyed by his early effort, then saw a 25-yard shot blocked by Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk, while Schmeichel pulled off another brilliant stop as he parried former Fox Anthony Knockaert’s ferocious effort to safety.
Aiming to build on their impressive first-half showing, Vardy nodded wide of the mark from a Gray delivery on 47 minutes, before Brighton striker Glenn Murray blazed over from close range just moments later.
City continued to press and scored a second goal of the game with 63 minutes on the clock. A lovely move from the hosts saw Maddison feed Vardy, who fired beyond Ryan for his ninth Premier League goal of 2018/19.
Brighton then halved the deficit three minutes after Vardy’s strike, as Dutch midfielder Davy Pröpper converted from inside the area to get his side back into the game.
Chris Hughton’s men, however, could not penetrate the City defence for a second time, while 21-year-old attacking midfielder Barnes went close to scoring his first goal for the Club on multiple occasions.
Major moment
City’s downfall in recent weeks has been their slow starts to games, but on Tuesday evening, they struck first and built on their early promise.
Winger Demarai Gray proved to be the man to seize his opportunity, as he latched onto Youri Tielemans’ pass and side-footed past Mat Ryan.
The Foxes’ early goal was crucial in setting the tone on an enjoyable evening at King Power Stadium.
Who impressed?
Lively throughout the game, Demarai Gray put in a razor-sharp performance on Filbert Way in front of newly-appointed manager Brendan Rodgers.
Gray’s goal on 10 minutes was followed up by a golden opportunity on 14 minutes, as Brighton ‘keeper Mat Ryan produced a superb stop to deny the wideman a brace.
With fixtures against Watford, Fulham, Burnley and AFC Bournemouth coming up next month, Gray will no doubt aim to shine again in Leicester colours.
Where do we stand?
Leicester City’s first victory since beating Everton on New Year’s Day sees them move up one position to 11th in the Premier League table. The Foxes are now five points behind seventh-placed Watford, who face leaders Liverpool on Wednesday night at Anfield.
Coming up…
Brendan Rodgers’ first game in charge will see Leicester City face his former side Watford at Vicarage Road on Sunday 3 March (12pm GMT kick-off) in the Premier League.