Three Wins In A Row For Resolute Foxes In London
Following successes over Manchester United and Spartak Moscow, in the Premier League and UEFA Europa League respectively, manager Brendan Rodgers made just two changes to his starting XI, with Timothy Castagne and Jamie Vardy coming into City's line-up.
Within the opening two minutes, Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had to be alert to palm international team-mate Christian Nørgaard's raked half-volley wide of his post, before bravely contesting a high ball with Pontus Jansson. Ivan Toney's strike was then disallowed for offside.
The Bees' pressure continued when Bryan Mbeumo curled wide, but it was Leicester who led in the 14th minute after a moment of real magic from Tielemans. Lurking on the edge of the home side's area, City's No.8 launched an unstoppable rocket past David Raya to make it 1-0 to the Foxes.
It was the 20th goal of the Belgian's career for Leicester as he added another spectacular effort to his impressive collection. The reality was, though, that Thomas Frank's hosts were on top in the possession stakes and they continued to dominate the ball even after falling behind in TW8.
City were able to limit them to half chances most of the time, but in the 35th minute, there was real cause for alarm when Frank Onyeka's cross was nodded towards goal by Toney. The man who scored 33 goals in all competitions last term, however, was denied by a smart fingertip save from Schmeichel.
It was 1-0 to City at the interval and Rodgers elected to make a change with Patson Daka, fresh from his four-goal heroics in Moscow, replacing Vardy in attack. The Foxes were on the front foot early on, as Maddison galloped forwards, before unleashing a fearsome drive which Raya needed to save.
Schmeichel was called upon again moments later as Sergi Canós spotted the run of Toney in the area, but a glanced header from Brentford's No.17 was scooped up calmly by the Foxes captain. Boubakary Soumaré, on the other hand, later forced Raya into a decent stop from 25 yards out.
On the hour mark, the Bees were level, through Zanka's flicked header. After Çağlar Söyüncü picked up a booking, Jannik Vestergaard was brought on as the Turkey centre-back's replacement for the final 22 minutes of normal time. Jansson then nodded a free header wide of Schmeichel's far post.
Momentum seemed to be swinging in the home side's favour, but Maddison had other ideas, after Tielemans' pass was cushioned into his path by the unselfish Daka. The Leicester No.10 remained composed to tuck the ball beyond the reaching arms of Raya to restore City's slender advantage.
The Brentford stopper was then able to get a hand on substitute Ayoze Pérez's effort, after playing a tidy one-two with Tielemans. The announcement of seven minutes of additional time, though, reminded City that there was plenty of work still to be done to see out the result.
Although Toney hit a long-range effort over, it was actually Leicester who looked the more likely to score another, with Daka's half-volley deflecting off Jansson. Frantic defensive work was still required in the final minute, with Vestergaard and Tielemans among those to get a touch, but City held out for another win.
Major moment
Despite weathering a storm midway through the second period, Leicester remained patient, waiting for the right time to pounce. With 73 minutes on the clock, their moment arrived, with Kasper Schmeichel starting the counter. Kelechi Iheanacho was next, filtering it through to Youri Tielemans.
A first-time pass from the Belgian threaded Patson Daka in on goal, but the Zambian unselfishly slotted it across to James Maddison to convert his first goal of the campaign.
Who impressed?
Former City striker Iwan Roberts said on LCFC Radio's Matchday Live coverage: "I have to give it to Youri Tielemans. His goal was spectacular and he was so comfortable in possession. The through ball which ultimately led to the second goal was something else. There were other good performers, but I have to give it to him today."
Where do we stand?
Leicester are ninth in the Premier League table after nine fixtures, with 14 points and a goal difference of 0. They're three points off the top four. Chelsea, on the other hand, lead the way on 22 points.
Coming up...
The Foxes host Brighton & Hove Albion at King Power Stadium on Wednesday night in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup (7:45pm kick-off) - the first of three consecutive outings on home soil in three different competitions. Arsenal are next up on Saturday in the Premier League (12:30pm kick-off), before Spartak Moscow fly over from Russia in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday 4 November (8pm GMT kick-off).
All times BST unless stated otherwise.