Barnes Brilliance Wins It For City
With Wilfred Ndidi missing out due to a hamstring problem, Belgium international Dennis Praet made his first Premier League start after making his debut during the 1-1 draw with Chelsea last time out.
It was Praet who would first have an attempt on goal, as his strike was blocked by Blades captain Ollie Norwood, before Christian Fuchs and Youri Tielemans both sent efforts off target in the opening 10 minutes.
Striker Jamie Vardy, then glanced a Tielemans delivery wide, but the City No.9 made no mistake with his next sight of goal, converting James Maddison’s excellent outside-of-the-boot through-ball by slamming a shot past Dean Henderson.
Aiming to build on their lead, City started the second half well. Maddison saw a shot blocked by George Baldock, and Ayoze Pérez went close to opening his Foxes account a minute later.
But with 62 minutes on the clock, substitute Oli McBurnie, who signed for the Blades from Swansea City this summer, headed in Baldock’s cross from the right flank to restore parity in Sheffield.
Two minutes later, however, Barnes was introduced, and it proved to be a vital substitution for Brendan Rodgers’ men.
The solid Çağlar Söyüncü found himself in an advanced position in the six-yard box, and the Turkey international did well to flick Fuchs’ cross into the path of Barnes. The Countesthorpe-based midfielder did the rest, producing a sensational half-volley which flew into the back of Henderson’s net.
Chris Wilder’s outfit applied pressure in the closing stages, and while Kasper Schmeichel did brilliantly to deny John Lundstram with a point-blank stop, the goal would not have stood as McBurnie was in an offside position and interfered with play.
Major moment
After being pegged back by Oli McBurnie, the Foxes needed something special to regain the lead in South Yorkshire, and Harvey Barnes duly obliged.
Çağlar Söyüncü won the initial header, and while the Academy graduate still had plenty to do, his thunderous effort sailed past DeanHenderson right in front of the end housing the Blue Army.
It was a special strike, and one that City’s No.15 will cherish.
Who impressed?
Gerry Taggart told LCFC Radio at full-time: “It’s very tricky, I have to say, because everyone played a part today. I think probably the most reliable and steady player on the pitch today was Christian Fuchs.
“He supplied that cross that led to the Harvey Barnes barnstormer, so it has to be Christian Fuchs for me – Mr. Reliable, Mr. Steady.”
Where do we stand?
Leicester City’s first victory of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign sees them move up to third position in the table, having accumulated five points from three games.
There are, however, still eight teams to play in this round of fixtures.
Coming up…
The Foxes get their Carabao Cup campaign underway on Wednesday night, when they head to St. James’ Park to face Newcastle United for a second round fixture.
Live coverage of the game will begin at 4:45pm BST on LCFC Radio with the Pre-Match Pint, before Matchday Live starts at 6:45pm BST.