- Leicester City beat Huddersfield Town 4-1 on New Year's Day
- Ricardo Pereira scored one and assisted one at King Power Stadium
- The Foxes have a 10-point gap at the top of the Sky Bet Championship
- City face Millwall this Saturday in the FA Cup
The turn of the New Year saw City see off the Terriers at King Power Stadium to conclude a busy festive period. A brace from Tom Cannon and goals form Ricardo and Stephy Mavididi ensured a 21st Sky Bet Championship win of 2023/24 for the hosts.
Leicester managed to cruise through December with six wins from seven before facing the Terriers, only dropping points on the road to Ipswich Town over the course of the whole month.
Wins over Cardiff City and Huddersfield got them back on track, but while satisfied with this latest victory, Ricardo was disappointed to not score a second on the day, highlighting a chance in the second half.
“I’m very pleased with the win,” the Portuguese defender explained. “It should be two goals to be honest, but it’s okay to score one, and the most important thing is the win. With so many games being played, it was good to win again.
“I’m not happy with my miss. It was too good a ball from Marc [Albrighton], so I’m a little disappointed about that but jokes aside, it was an important goal, especially at the start of the second half.
“It was important in controlling more of the game so I'm happy to get on the scoresheet. I’m used to scoring a header sometimes. It was nice, and a good cross from JJ (James Justin), so it’s one more.
“After so many games, sometimes the team can be a bit tired, especially after two long away games in a row, so we needed to control the game. I think the timings we scored for the first and second goals were very important too.”
Cannon, who had earned his first start for the Club since joining on a permanent basis last September, found the net in both halves, sparking excitement around Filbert Way, especially in the absence of fellow forwards Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka through injury and the upcoming African Cup of Nations tournament.
Monday’s captain stated how happy he was for the former Everton striker to find the net, and talked about the importance he feels when entrusted with the armband.
“It was nice, everyone is happy for Tom [Cannon],” Pereira said smiling. “I said to him yesterday that I felt he would score and we're happy that he did, for sure.
“I feel like I have more experience than others, so it’s nice to have the armband. I just try to help my team-mates, especially the younger ones, and it’s one more win.”