Matchday Live Talking Points: City's Sensible Approach & Concentrating On The League
- Leicester City ended the UEFA Europa League group stage with a 2-0 victory over AEK Athens
- The Foxes finished top of Group G and will be seeded in Monday's Round of 32 draw
- Matt Elliott, Iwan Roberts and Gerry Taggart provided their expert opinion on Matchday Live
- LCFC Radio provides live and free coverage of every Leicester City fixture this season
A rocket from Cengiz Ünder and Harvey Barnes' sixth goal of the season, in quick succession during the first half, were enough for the Foxes to secure victory and top spot - meaning seeded status - in Group G.
While Brendan Rodgers' men can now look forward to the Round of 32 draw on Monday, Elliott, Roberts and Taggart reflected on an impressive performance, as well as previewing Sunday's clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Leicester in control
Matt Elliott said: “They looked in control. They were in charge of proceedings and, once they got the opening goal, which Cengiz Ünder smashed home, the game was pretty much done and dusted. They followed it up quickly and you thought it was going to be a case of ‘how many?’ It was a sensible approach in the second half. They could have gone on and strived for more goals, stepping up a gear or two, but they didn’t need to. They’re ticking along nicely now with a couple of wins on the trot ahead of the game on Sunday.”
Attacking the game
Iwan Roberts said: “There was a high tempo, they attacked with pace and great movement and they created chances and scored goals. They were solid defensively, too, even though AEK didn’t really ask too much of Leicester. The game was won by half-time, they didn’t need to get out of second gear in the second half and, when you’ve played 18 games this season, you’ve got to be clever about things. It’s two wins on the spin and they’re back on track.”
A professional performance
Gerry Taggart said: “I thought it was a really professional performance. It was almost too easy at times. Yes, you want to go and score three, four or five goals, and maybe they should have done, but it’s all about managing the game. Some of the football on display was scintillating. Brendan will be pretty pleased with that. The job was to finish top of the group, they’ve done that, and they come out with no injuries, suspensions, so it’s happy days all round.”
Job done for the Foxes
Matt Elliott said: “When you saw the line-up and the formation, you thought Leicester would get after them early on and that was the case. It was the right way forward. AEK came here with not much too play for and Leicester pressurised them and got into their stride pretty early on. It’s a case of job done and they saw it through comfortably enough. It was a move in the right direction in terms of applying the formation too.”
Maintaining the good start
Iwan Roberts: “I was very impressed with the first half performance. They’re back to the Leicester City that we all enjoy watching. Hopefully now, with the confidence they will get from these two wins and getting into the next stage of this competition, this is done and dusted now and they can forget about the Europa League until February. Now, it’s all about concentrating and focusing on maintaining their good start in the Premier League.”
A big few weeks ahead
Gerry Taggart said: “It’s a league game against Brighton on Sunday, a big, big game. Brighton started the season well. They’ve dropped off a little bit, but I still think they’re a better side than they were last season. It’s a good game to play at home after that great result last week against Sheffield United. Then we’ll be into games against the likes of Everton, Tottenham and Manchester United. The heat will be ramped up. Hopefully, with this break from Europe, Leicester can really stamp their authority.”