Elliott's Season Highlight – City's 'Magnificent' Man Utd Triumph

It was a year of highs and lows for City across six competitions. Brendan Rodgers' men had to withstand scarcely believable injury problems throughout the campaign, alongside COVID-19-related fixture postponements, and the addition of 14 European fixtures into an already congested schedule.

Nevertheless, the Foxes added a host of performances to the memories scrapbook in 2021/22 – notably beating Jürgen Klopp's superb Liverpool outfit and progressing to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League, beating the likes of Rennes and PSV Eindhoven along the way.

For former Leicester captain Matt Elliott, the hero for City at the 2000 League Cup final, one game sticks out. In October, when Manchester United visited King Power Stadium, all the pre-match discussion was centred on the Red Devils' title chances, after an extensive summer rebuild at Old Trafford.

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo had returned to the North West club, alongside the arrivals of Jadon Sancho and Raphaël Varane for a combined reported sum of over £100M. Rodgers' home side, though, stunned Ole Gunnar Solskjær's Man Utd in extraordinary fashion.

After the visitors had taken a one-goal lead on Filbert Way, if anything, Leicester's performance level increased, roared on by the Blue Army. An exquisite strike from Youri Tielemans – ultimately the Club's Mens Goal of the Season – indicated it was going to be an afternoon to savour.

"Leicester had faced adversity in that game already by going behind," Elliott said. "In times gone by, maybe they’d have conceded again. They didn’t let the fact they’d gone 1-0 knock them. In fact, if anything, it spurred them on.

"It was indicative of that when [Kelechi] Iheanacho went up and put pressure on Harry Maguire, high up the pitch. He backed himself and his team-mates backed him, under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, to go and be brave and put pressure on Man Utd high up the pitch.

"On some occasions, Leicester have been a little tentative against the bigger teams, Man Utd being one of them, but that showed the intent. They tested themselves and tried to match Man Utd. It forced the error and Tielemans did the rest with a sublime finish.

"You could see the confidence in their play after that goal. I would have been intrigued to see Leicester, with that confidence and a fully-fit squad, and where that might have taken them across the whole season.

"Their attitude in that game and the players they had available at that time, it felt like a real positive step in the right direction. There we so many goals flying around. It showed Leicester’s capability as a team, but also their resilience and spirit.

"That came to the fore. I thought Leicester were magnificent on the day and that goal shows why."

A thrilling tie remained 1-1 from that point, with Tielemans' equaliser coming midway through the first half, until the 78th minute. As the ball bounced around in the Man Utd area, Çağlar Söyüncü was there to prod it beyond David De Gea to give City the lead for the first time. 

Just four minutes later, though, it was 2-2. Elliott believes that moment, for lesser sides, could have signalled a downturn in fortunes and offered a window of opportunity for the visitors to seal all three points. Straight from the kick-off, though, City advanced, with Jamie Vardy's instinctive finish making it 3-2.

Patson Daka then added a fourth later on to apply a touch of gloss to the scoreline in the autumnal sunshine at King Power Stadium. 

"When they took the lead to make it 2-1, [Marcus] Rashford comes back and equalises almost straight away," the former centre-back added. "That could have halted Leicester in their tracks. You thought: ‘Now, maybe, the class of Man Utd is going to come through’. Leicester were having none of that.

"Straight away again, from the kick-off pretty much, I think it was a ball out to [Timothy] Castagne, he then gave it to [Ayoze] Pérez, and with the outside of his foot, he sets up what’s actually only half a chance for Jamie Vardy. He slices it into the top corner so well and everyone was going crazy.

"It was yet another of those moments for Jamie Vardy. Man Utd were down and out at that point and then Patson Daka goes and finishes the job. They seemed to concede defeat when that Vardy goal went in.

"It was almost as if they were thinking: ‘Whatever we do, these Foxes keep coming back at us’. Like I say, I thought it was a magnificent performance."

One abiding memory of that clash with the 20-time champions of English is the red-hot atmosphere in the stands at King Power Stadium. It was a real example of the force of the Foxes faithful, who pushed their side onto a superb three points in the Premier League.

"Crowds had been starved of that sort of action not so long beforehand," Elliott explained. "It was a fixture, up against a Man Utd, that people always anticipate and look forward to. There's always a chance to create that sort of atmosphere that King Power Stadium can produce.

"It has done many times before and the fans were up for it, that was clear from the off, and so were the players. The way the game evolved and the way that Leicester fought back and turned things around on a couple of occasions, against the odds in many ways, it really brought things to a height.

"Particularly, when the Vardy goal went in, people were pinching themselves. They couldn’t really believe what they were seeing. There was a quick succession of goals. Söyüncü's goal wasn’t too long before Rashford’s equaliser and then it’s seconds until Leicester are back in front again.

"It was an unbelievable few minutes and you’re always looking around for a flag or for VAR to come into play, but it was an incredible game full of incredible moments. It was a great occasion and the fans very much played their part in getting Leicester over the line."

While Elliott is keen to remind people that his City side, in the late 1990s, did enjoy some success against Sir Alex Ferguson's dominant Man Utd, the ex-Scotland defender admits it was usually chastening experience to face the Red Devils back in his playing days.

He believes all that has since changed – a combination of United's struggles over recent seasons and Leicester's heightened stature in the game. Since Boxing Day in 2020, the Foxes have gone five games unbeaten against the Manchester club, winning three and drawing two. 

"The Man Utd team of today is quite a distance away from the Man Utd side we had the displeasure of playing against!" he laughed. "I’ll just remind you, though, that we pinched a win and a draw even against that great side at Old Trafford.

"That was many moons ago, when Tony Cottee scored and we won 1-0, and we got a 2-2 draw there as well. We did, though, have a very barren period against them because they were such an incredible team.

"Leicester have had more success over recent years, going back to the 5-3 win in their first year back in the Premier League, in the year of the 'Great Escape'. Maybe a little bit of the fear factor’s gone, but also Leicester have risen.

"To go five games unbeaten against Man Utd is some achievement, regardless of the level they're playing at because they’re truly one of the biggest clubs in the world. It’s a realisation, from Leicester’s point of view, just how good a team that they are capable of being.

"They’ve shown a lot of courage and a lot of belief in themselves against those bigger teams in recent years and they’ve got real quality in that squad now. They don’t just sit back and pinch a goal, they go up against them. To do that against a side with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo in the XI is some effort.

"To do that consistently, over five games, is impressive. That quarter-final win (a 3-1 FA Cup success at King Power Stadium in March 2021) was a landmark win for them.

"Man Utd tend to put a strong team out in the latter stages of the cups, they’re keen to win something every year, and it was a win which maybe even gave them the belief they could go on and win the competition themselves. When you look at that record, you realise what Leicester are capable of."

The future is bright for the Foxes, says Elliott, who believes there are mitigating circumstances for City's form in 2021/22. Despite that, however, the Foxes recovered to go desperately close to a first-ever European final, also climbing the Premier League table to finish a commendable eighth. 

"I know it wasn’t the season everyone was hoping for, but it didn’t end up too badly at all did it?" he said. "Injuries were a massive part of it. With a fully-fit squad and a couple of additions, going forward, hopefully Leicester can produce what we know they can next season.

"You can look at last season from a couple of perspectives, it’s not one or the other. I look at it from the perspective of my playing days at the Club.

"I’m fortunate enough to see all the games through my involvement with the Club now and there’s always room for improvement, but eighth in the Premier League – regardless of the European semi-final – is some achievement. It’s maybe slightly diluted by what we know Leicester are capable of.

"They won the Premier League a few years ago and went very close to Champions League qualification on two occasions, but it’s all part of the growth. The toll of playing in Europe to the degree Leicester did, plus injuries, is easy to underestimate.

"They played 14 European games, so that’s bound to have a detrimental effect on the league performance, especially at the back-end of the season. Injuries were ridiculous, really. They were exceptional circumstances.

"They’ve had a lot to contend with so, to finish eighth as they did... in my day that was celebrated around the city, whether we won a cup or not. These days, it’s maybe muted applause, which shows where the Club’s gone. Look at the competition in the Premier League.

"We know all about the top six, but there’s a lot of clubs spending big money in the league, and most of them finished below Leicester this season. It’s undoubtedly been a rocky season, but Leicester stood up to it and finished well.

"I think a lot of supporters will actually be quite satisfied with how it turned out, with the potential and prospect of achieving better next season. They’re quite realistic prospects as well."