Maresca ‘Very Happy With The Three Points’
- Leicester City saw off Blackburn Rovers 4-1 in the Sky Bet Championship on Sunday
- Wout Faes, Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall all scored
- Enzo Maresca praised the team’s performance at Ewood Park
- It takes the Foxes back up to the top of the league table
Goals from Wout Faes, Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall secured the three points at Ewood Park, lifting Enzo Maresca’s men back to the Sky Bet Championship summit.
Winning the tactical battle was key to triumphing in Lancashire, he believes, with the early equaliser from Sammie Szmodics the only blot on the Foxes’ copybook.
“It was an important win,” the Manager analysed post-match. “Probably the most important because of the opponent. They are really tough opponent, we knew that. They play very well, they bring many players inside, so it’s difficult to build this kind of game.
“I’m happy because off the ball we worked together, we sacrificed and, on the ball, we had some good moments. We lost a bit of confidence because of the goal we conceded. It’s normal for a team that tries to play in one way, the way we want to play, but I’m very happy with the three points today.”
It was a 159th Football League goal for City’s evergreen No.9 to regain the Foxes’ advantage in the first half and the 36-year-old shows no signs of slowing down after his fourth strike of the season across all competitions. Sharing the goals around the team once again was yet another pleasing aspect of the performance for Maresca.
“We expect this from Jamie, so I’m not surprised,” he continued. “I’m happy for Kel as well because the strikers scored. I’m happy for Kiernan also scoring. It was a complete performance.
“We tried to score since we started the game. Sometimes it happens at the beginning, sometimes it happens at the end, but in the first 10 to 15 minutes of the second half we dropped off a lot, but then for 25 minutes we came back and we were very good. It’s important to score a goal and in this game the opponent was very tough so it’s even more important.”
Maintaining the Club’s 100 per cent record on the road this season, a fifth away triumph of 2023/24, sent home the 3,269 travelling Foxes fans home happy and Maresca praised their unwavering support, ahead of returning to King Power Stadium to face Preston North End on Wednesday.
The Italian added: “I think it was great for the fans, there were a lot of them. It’s always a pleasure to see our fans away. They started the journey very early in the morning, so it’s been a good day. In this moment, if we win at home or win away, it’s always important to get the three points.
“In the last five games, we’ve played four away and just one at home. Away, in some moments, we look like we are playing at home. I’ve always said I want the same environment at home and now this Wednesday it’s a big game for us, because it’s at home. We need all the fans there supporting the team. It doesn’t matter the way we play.”