Hitting The Front, Breaking Records & Staying On Top - City’s Season So Far
With 21 wins from 26 matches, accumulating 65 points in the process, City sit at the division’s summit and have done for some time. Currently averaging 2.5 points per game, it’s some record, especially when you consider this is a team created barely six months ago by a Manager who was entering the unknown of English football’s second tier himself.
Former Manchester City coach Enzo Maresca’s style of play has been a breath of fresh air, combining talent and quality with sharp tactical nous and revolutionary ideas, all of which works like a well-oiled machine. There’s still work to do, mind you, but the way Leicester are going at the moment, the Foxes look well set for a successful season.
It all started with the visit of Midlands rivals Coventry City; so close to a place in the Premier League, they fell agonisingly short at the final hurdle last term but would arrive on Filbert Way more than fired up. Leicester, of course, had their own disappointment of relegation to put behind them.
A fresh start under a new Manager, with four debutants in the starting XI, the campaign began with victory. In front of a raucous crowd, the visitors edged ahead, but back came Maresca’s men, with local lad Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall the hero, scoring twice in the final 13 minutes to turn the game on its head in dramatic fashion.
The Blue Army were ecstatic for the first time in a long while. Following an opening weekend to remember, Leicester’s promotion push quickly gathered momentum. Wins at Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United came either side of a home victory over Cardiff City. None of these games were a formality, however.
A sole Stephy Mavididi strike was just enough to see off the defensively resolute Terriers, before a very late debut goal from Chelsea loanee Cesare Casadei secured success against Cardiff. Kasey McAteer did the damage at New York Stadium, meanwhile, bagging a brace as the Academy graduate’s stock continued to grow. Fellow Development Squad winger Wanya Marçal also made an impression, scoring on his first home league start.
The 100 per cent record was ended by Hull City, a shock home defeat which was quickly forgotten once fellow-relegated side Southampton were beaten 4-1 on their own patch. It remains one of the most impressive performances of the season to date, as four different Foxes added their name to the scoresheet.
Norwich City, also put to the sword on the road, maintained the Foxes’ perfect away tally, though Nigel Pearson’s Bristol City proved a tough nut to crack until talismanic forward Jamie Vardy’s spot-kick.
Leicester were back on top and entered October in stunning fashion. A 4-1 defeat of Blackburn Rovers led into successive home victories in three days; five goals scored against Preston North End and Stoke City without reply. Fortress King Power Stadium had returned.
A busy month continued with another three victories. The 3-1 away triumph at Swansea City (a Club-record sixth away win in a row), a 1-0 success over Sunderland and negotiating a tricky trip to struggling Queens Park Rangers - which ended 2-1 to the visiting Foxes - all ensured it would be six from six in October. Harry Winks’ sensational strike at Loftus Road was the highlight of that impressive run, matching a Club record of nine consecutive league wins.
Consecutive 1-0 losses to Leeds United and Middlesbrough was not the ideal start to November, but City were back on track with victory over Watford, substitute Vardy netting two in the final quarter of an hour to remind everyone of his evergreen talents in front of goal.
Leaving Hillsborough frustrated, having let in an injury-time leveller, roles were reversed in favour of the Foxes less than 72 hours later when Winks scored a 94th-minute winner at West Bromwich Albion, despite conceding an equaliser themselves in the final minute of normal time.
Following those scenes of jubilation at The Hawthorns in early December, it was back to business during the most hectic month of the campaign. The relentless Championship schedule was not letting up, but neither was Leicester’s form, emphatically defeating Plymouth Argyle 4-0, and Millwall 3-2 back on Filbert Way, before serving up a classic at St. Andrew’s.
The 3-2 win over Birmingham City, in front of the Sky Sports cameras, showed two sides to City’s game: both the ruthless attacking quality and defensive grit. They looked the real deal. After that full-throttle encounter, more patience was required, in the first half anyway, to beat Rotherham for the second time.
Patson Daka emerged from the sidelines to clinically write his name in the latest chapter of the season. A brace that day and a total of four goals in as many games showing just what the Zambian can do prior to his involvement in the African Cup of Nations.
Another late goal on Boxing Day denied Maresca’s side three points at closest challengers Ipswich Town, but the gap to second-place remained substantial, growing further as Leicester made light work of defeating Cardiff for the second time this term.
A stunning James Justin hit at Cardiff City Stadium is a nailed on contender for Goal of the Season, the final strike of 2023 a fitting end to the calendar year and a month which brought 18 goals in seven games.
By the time the New Year’s Day fixture with Huddersfield came around, Leicester were already pulling away at the Championship’s summit and started how they mean to go on, winning 4-1 to open up a sizeable 10-point lead, courtesy of Tom Cannon's full debut double - his first goals in a Leicester shirt.
Already past the half-way stage, Maresca's men have demonstrated they are formidable opponents for any Championship side. Coventry, however, will be looking for revenge when the two teams meet next Saturday, in what should be an intriguing encounter at Coventry Building Society Arena.