Barnes Points To Delivery Of Game Plan

- Harvey Barnes says Leicester City’s decision making when pressing Leeds United contributed to their win on Monday night
- The Foxes recorded a 4-1 Premier League triumph at Elland Road
- Barnes netted the opening goal before Youri Tielemans (2) and Jamie Vardy added to the scoreline

The Academy graduate’s opening goal inside three minutes set City on the path to their largest-ever victory at Elland Road, where Youri Tielemans’ brace and Jamie Vardy’s seventh Premier League goal of 2020/21 earned the visiting side all three points.

Barnes knew the Foxes would face a stern test in Yorkshire, but their defensive solidity and lethal forward play resulted in a commanding triumph over Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Barnes told LCFC TV: “I think it’s a massive result for us. We knew it was going to be tough coming here, but we executed our game plan very well, stuck to it and it’s paid off in the end.

“We knew before the game we had to pick and choose when we were going to press them, but I think in that situation it’s worked out very well for us.

“Vards (Jamie Vardy) is such a good goalscorer but also, he’s very unselfish when it comes to it, so he’s done very well and it was an easy finish, but I think it was a massive goal for us, to get ahead early on.”

A deluge throughout the evening made the Elland Road pitch heavy, but City were still able to capitalise on multiple attacks and scored twice in each half to seal all three points.

“It was difficult, the pitch was a bit unpredictable at times, but we stuck to it very well,” Barnes said. “We played very well at times, but also, we were under pressure a bit, so when that came, we dealt with it very well. 

“Coming out after half-time, you know how important it is as to who gets the next goal. With them getting it, we had to stick together and make sure that was the only goal we conceded, and I think we did that very well.

“Coming in and in the end having a very young defence, we played really well. You could see how solid we were as a team and as a unit. We defended really solidly.”

The Foxes, for the first time, have now recorded five victories in their opening seven top-flight matches to leave them second in the Premier League table.

“We’re very happy with our start,” Barnes added. “We knew after the disappointing end to last season how important it was going to be to get off to a good start. We’ve done that not only in the Premier League, but the Europa League as well.

“We’re just sticking to the game plan that we’re setting for each game. Like you say, we’ve gone to some tough places so far and come away with wins, so credit to us for sticking to that and picking our times, and being clinical has been the main thing for us.”