Maresca Pleased To Get The Job Done
- Leicester City beat Tranmere Rovers 2-0 at Prenton Park
- The result secures a spot in round three of the Carabao Cup
- Manager Enzo Maresca assessed the team’s sixth straight win
- Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy scored the Foxes’ goals
The Foxes secured a safe passage into round three at Prenton Park, able to overcome the Sky Bet League 2 side thanks to two second-half goals. Leicester were made to wait for their killer chances to come, though.
After a goalless first period, substitute Wilfred Ndidi opened the scoring with a smart finish, followed less than four minutes later by Jamie Vardy’s first of the campaign, assisted by the Nigerian midfielder.
Ndidi & Vardy On Target At Tranmere
Enjoy the key moments from Leicester City's 2-0 win at Tranmere Rovers in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
“It’s never easy to win a game,” City’s Manager admitted. “You can see in the first round that many teams went out, tonight also. We’re happy with the result, happy with the performance.
“At the end, the most important thing is to arrive there (in the box), create chances and then the goal will arrive, for sure. I’m happy for Wilfred and especially happy with the second goal we scored because the assist was very good and the way we arrived there was very good.
“As I always say, there are many things we need to improve, but it’s normal. We just have to keep going.”
Struggling to find a way through Tranmere’s stubborn rearguard, Maresca opted to make four half-time changes, including a debut for Turkish winger Yunus Akgün. It added extra impetus to the attack and allowed Cesare Casadei to play a more prominent role in midfield.
“For some of them, we planned for them to play just 45 minutes,” the 43-year-old explained. “For some of them, I probably expected something more, but it’s normal.
“You can see that he (Yunus) is creating chances for himself and how good his one vs. one is. I’m very happy for him to get a 45-minute debut and that we won the game.
“He (Casadei) is one more player who needs minutes to get better and better. We are giving him some minutes, sometimes from the bench and tonight from the start. We have many players, so we can decide.”
Hull City are the visitors to King Power Stadium on Saturday (3pm BST kick-off) as attention turns back to the Sky Bet Championship. Leicester sit at the league’s summit as things stand, and are looking to extend their winning run to seven matches in front of the Blue Army.
We Can Improve Despite Win, Says Maresca
Manager Enzo Maresa takes stock on a 2-0 win for his Leicester City side at Tranmere Rovers in the Carabao Cup.
The Italian added: “Saturday is our next game, which is important. “Then finally the international break. To be honest, I said we need them (the supporters), especially now in this moment.
“After a relegation, we started a new season and need them with us. On Saturday, for sure, we need them even more because it will be a complicated game. But they are going to be there with us.
“It’s a big game at home with our fans and it won’t be easy, but with our fans there, supporting us, it will be good.”
James Justin was substituted late on in the game, but Maresca assured fans that he was not injured: “It was just cramp, he was tired. He’s not playing a lot, unfortunately, because the way he trains every day is amazing. But for sure, he will be one of the players that will help us.”