- Patson Daka scored all four goals in Leicester City’s UEFA Europa League triumph
- The Foxes defeated Spartak Moscow at Otkrytie Bank Arena to record a first Group C win
- Tony Cottee reflected on the performance during LCFC Radio’s Matchday Live coverage
- The quality of Daka’s movement and finishes was of the highest order, Cottee explained
Strikes in the 45th, 48th, 54th and 78th minutes at Otkrytie Bank Arena were enough for Leicester to seal a crucial Group C win in their third UEFA Europa League fixture of the campaign.
Trailing 2-0 in the first half, the Zambia forward produced a series of neat finishes to net a nine-minute hat-trick and hand the Foxes the advantage, before adding his fourth on a memorable night in Moscow.
Cottee, who played in European competition for the Foxes and was part of LCFC Radio’s Matchday Live coverage on Wednesday afternoon, paid tribute to Daka’s performance in front of goal, while also analysing his movement and positioning.
“He’s made history,” Cottee commented following full-time. “And the quality of his finishes, they were different finishes, but he was in the right place and the right time and showed some real quality as well.
“He’s set a standard for himself going forward. He does his special celebration and he knew that he’d achieved something really good.
“He showed his composure without a doubt. It can be difficult for players sometimes when you almost have too much time. It’s not instinctive, you often see players panicking and not making the right choices.
“The timing of his run, similar to Jamie Vardy, he’s playing on the shoulder of the last defender. It’s a real talent to be able to get as close to that without actually being in an offside position. It’s something that Jamie has done very successfully over the last 10 years.
“I think we’ve seen evidence of that in Daka as well. It’s something that you learn to do. That extra half a yard can make such a difference in terms of the timing of your run. If you can get that slight advantage, it gives you an extra half a yard if you’ve got the talent to go with it, which he has.
“It was an outstanding individual performance.”
The team’s overall attacking display was also commended by Cottee, who saw the contributions of Youri Tielemans and James Maddison as vital in providing Daka with opportunities in front of goal, as he became Leicester City’s joint top goalscorer in European competition.
“It’s hard enough to get a hat-trick in any professional game, let alone get four goals,” the former Foxes forward enthused. “It’s not going to happen too often. It was a fantastic performance in the second half.
“For one player to do that, he was the finisher and there were some great finishes among his goals, but the overall team performance and the passing to get him into those positions, there was some real positives for Brendan [Rodgers] to take into the match coming up at the weekend.
“He’s a goalscorer and he’s come to a club now where he’s going to be surrounded by some quality players. I’m praising his runs, but also the absolute quality of some of the passes to get into that position, played into space or played into his feet, he’ll revel with that service.
"He looks a real find for Leicester.”
Becoming the first Foxes player to score four goals in a game since Derek Hines achieved the feat some 63 years ago, Daka entered the history books for his display in the Russian capital.
A summer signing from RB Salzburg, Daka has now netted five times in his last two appearances, following a maiden Premier League strike against Manchester United at the weekend.
Cottee believes Rodgers can call upon a number of excellent forwards within the squad, who will all be vital throughout a campaign which includes multiple competitions.
The 50-year-old added: “It’s a nice headache I think Brendan’s got now. He has three strikers in top form – which two do you play on Sunday?
“You cannot do any more than what he’s done. You never know what’s around the corner with football, there’s injuries, there’s suspensions, there’s all sorts of things that can happen and all you can do is take your chance and boy did he take his chances.
“He would have known that he had two fantastic talents in front of him. He’s come into the Club, he’s had to be patient, we’ve only seen glimpses of him over the course of the first 10 to 12 games. He’s got to compete for his place in the team.
“With the squad players for Leicester and the feel-good factor where those players come in and are not sulking, they all feel like they’ve got a point to prove.”