Foxes Begin Pre-Season With Birmingham Success
The Foxes, donning their new away kit, emerged victorious from their maiden match of pre-season, as their preparation for the 2020/21 Premier League went up a notch.
A blend of experienced stars, including Kasper Schmeichel, Youri Tielemans, Çağlar Söyüncü, Demarai Gray, Harvey Barnes and Marc Albrighton, as well as a group of emerging youngsters, all gained vital pre-season minutes in Birmingham as Brendan Rodgers got a first look at a number of his players since they reported back from their summer breaks.
Chances in the opening stages were at a premium as both outfits began to settle into the game, with Gray testing goalkeeper Zach Jeacock with a deflected effort before Söyüncü dragged wide from inside the area on 27 minutes.
City maintained their pressure on the Birmingham defence as Tielemans had a shot blocked and youngsters Josh Knight and George Hirst both went close to finding the net, while Barnes, right at the end of the first half, forced Jeacock into his most notable save of the opening 45 minutes.
A much-changed XI took to the field after the break, and it was substitute Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who would make an immediate impact on the game.
Tielemans surged through a gap in the Birmingham midfield and offloaded to Dewsbury-Hall, who took a touch before firing low into the net.
An important block from fellow substitute Filip Benković followed, as he got in the way of Jayden Reid’s strike from inside the Leicester area.
The hour mark prompted more changes for the visiting side, but Albrighton remained on the pitch and a stroke of fortune for the winger resulted in him making it 2-0.
The Leicester No.11 closed down Jeacock, whose rushed clearance struck Albrighton and rebounded into the back of the net.
An opportunity for Zimbabwe international Admiral Muskwe to make it 3-0 late on followed, but after winning a penalty, he couldn’t beat Jeacock from 12 yards.
Major moment
Despite City enjoying the best goalscoring chances of the first 45 minutes, they were unable to break the Birmingham defence and knew an early opener would be valuable if they were to begin pre-season on the front foot.
And the Foxes delivered on 53 minutes when substitute Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall combined with Youri Tielemans, whose neat pass was collected by the young City midfielder before he fired into the net from approximately 12 yards out.
Who impressed?
Matt Elliott, on commentary duty for LCFC TV, said: “It was neat play (for Leicester’s first goal). It was enterprising from [Youri] Tielemans and he got the move in motion. It was a lovely touch from [Kiernan] Dewsbury-Hall – who played well throughout his spell on the pitch – and an impressive finish which was a reward for Leicester’s domination.”
Coming up…
Brendan Rodgers’ side will play their second pre-season fixture in four days when City take on Sheffield Wednesday at Loughborough University on Saturday (12pm kick-off).
The match will once again be shown live and free on LCFC TV and YouTube, with the broadcast beginning at 11:30am.
All times BST.