fosse posse 
06-04-2024 17:56
06-04-2024 17:56
Match Report: Leicester City 2 - 1 Birmingham City
Recap
Leicester City overcame a stubborn Birmingham City side and took all three points at the King Power on Saturday afternoon. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gave the Foxes the lead midway through the first half, only to see it wiped out by a horrific error by Mads Hermansen, who deflected the ball off of Jay Stansfield and into his own net. Stephy Mavididi’s header just before the end of regular time secured the win for the hosts.
Just as the win against Norwich City earlier this week marked a return to form, this too was a match that followed a script we saw regularly during the fall. Leicester had 68% of the possession, took 19 shots, put 9 on target, and won 10 corners. The squad stayed calm and patient even after a defensive error gave the opponents a goal. In the end, the pressure paid off and Leicester grabbed a thoroughly deserved late winner.
There was a lot to like about the performance today. Birmingham City were seldom able to impose themselves on the match and their goal came out of absolutely nowhere. The defenders looked assured, the midfield was ticking, and the wingers caused all kinds of problems. Today, most of the damage came from the left side (Editor’s note: Gee Jake, you think so? What tipped you off? The goal scorers?) but Fatawu and Ndidi were frequently just inches from getting their angles right.
On another day, the Foxes might win this one 4-0, but it’s telling that they were able to dig deep and get the points even when this wasn’t “another day.” The belief in the system has returned and, with it, the results. Also, kudos to the team for not letting the off-field financial situation become a distraction. I’m able to cope with it by sticking my fingers in my ears and going “Nya nya nya nya I can’t hear you!” but I doubt this option is available to the playing staff. If it were, you can bet it would have hit TikTok by now.
The victory gives Leicester 88 points from 40 matches and sees the Foxes return to the top of the table. With both Ipswich Town and Leeds losing, City now lead their rivals by one and two points respectively. Crucially, the Foxes also have a game in hand on both of them. There are only six matches left for Leicester, the next coming on Tuesday evening against Millwall in London. The following Friday, we visit the south coast to take on Plymouth at the imaginatively named Home Park.
Lineups
Leicester City: Mads Hermansen, Ricardo Pereira (C), Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard, Callum Doyle, Wilfred Ndidi, Harry Winks, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Abdul Fatawu, Stephy Mavididi, Patson Daka
Birmingham City: John Ruddy, Dion Sanderson, Emanuel Aiwu, Lee Buchanan, Ethan Laird, Jordan James, Krystian Bielik, Paik Seung-Ho, Jay Stansfield, Juninho Bacuna, Koji Miyoshi Key Moments and Notes
1’- This is the third time the Foxes have faced Birmingham City and the third different manager at the helm for the Blues. Meme manager Wayne Rooney was in charge in December when the Foxes won 3-2 in the league. Tony Mowbray was the boss in January when Leicester knocked Birmingham out of the FA Cup. Today, the Blues are led by former Fox Gary Rowett. It’s been a turbulent year at St. Andrews; both John Eustace and Mark Venus came and went without facing the Foxes.
6’- It is all Leicester City from the opening whistle. City...no, the blue City...no, Leicester City...have had something like 85% of the possession and it’s been very purposeful possession. Also, I hate it when we play another “City” and they normally wear blue.
10’- Penalty/Free kick shout for the Foxes? Mavididi beats Laird to a through ball from KDH. The defender seems to nudge the former Arsenal winger over right on the edge of the area.
15’- Cannot overstate the difference Ricardo makes in this system. He’s so clever in the space behind the front three.
27’- GOAL! Kienan Dewsbury-Hall finishes from Daka’s unselfish layoff. Huge contribution from Fatawu, who wins the ball while on the deck to slip it to Daka. 35’- Birmingham have reacted well to going down a goal but they’re having the same issues the Foxes have faced at the other end: There are just too many bodies in the box to play through.
40’- It’s a windy afternoon at the King Power. Both sides are really struggling to get long balls on target. You’d think this would favour the Foxes, and, for the most part, it has. The risk is that Faes or Vestergaard lose track of a floated ball over the top and a striker gets in. We’ve certainly seen it once or twice this year.
45’- GOAL! Oh no! Where did that come from. The Foxes play a goal kick from Faes to Hermansen. The keeper dawdles on it and Stansfield nips in to deflect the hurried clearance into the net. HALF-TIME: Leicester City 1 - 1 Birmingham City
46’- One change for the Foxes: James Justin is on for Doyle. No indication of whether or not it’s a tactical change or if the Manchester City loanee picked up a knock.
49’- Close! Mavididi chips in a cross and Ndidi times his run perfectly. It’s on target and has loads of power, but it’s too close to Ruddy.
50’- Close! Fatawu cuts inside from the wing and his shot is a good one, but Ruddy gets across the line to parry it. Fine save from the veteran keeper.
54’- Close! Ndidi gets behind the defence and stands up a cross to the far post. Justin has a free header, but Miyoshi grabs his arm and pulls him down. The ball bounces to Vestergaard, who tries a bicycle kick that’s easily gathered. If the Championship had VAR, that’s a penalty all day. Not sure how referee David Webb missed that one.
JJ appears to be pulled down at the back post by Miyoshi as he was about to get on the end of a Fatawu cross but the referee says no penalty. #LCFC — Rob Tanner (@RobTannerLCFC) April 6, 2024
See? It’s not just me.
60’- Jamie Vardy is on for Daka. Daka’s workrate was outstanding and his assist was brilliant, but he’ll be disappointed not to have scored today.
66’- The entire stadium stands to sing “Champions of England - You Made Us Sing That” in tribute to Khun Vichai, who would have been 66 on Thursday. 73’- Leicester take their 8th corner of the match and it proves as effective as the other 7.
82’- Enzo Maresca sends Dennis Praet and Yunus Akgun on for Ndidi and Fatawu respectively. Wilf and Abdul both showed flashes of great play but neither could find the final ball.
85’- Faes plays a ball over the top for Vardy and it looks like the GOAT will get there, but Aiwu wraps both arms around the striker and the ball rolls to Ruddy. Not quite sure how that wasn’t called.
88’- GOAL! An unmarked Mavididi meets Yunus Akgun’s far post cross. The former Montpellier man nods home to give the Foxes a 2-1 advantage. The whole move was set up by a marauding run by Vestergaard, because of course it was. I think we’ll forgive the yellow card in this instance.
90’- FIVE minutes of time will be added on.
95’- With 5 seconds of time added on remaining, Conor Coady comes on for Mavididi.
97’- Vardy wins a corner. I would not expect this one to be played more than a foot or two from the flag...and it isn’t. There goes the whistle!
FULL TIME: Leicester City 2 - 1
Leicester City overcame a stubborn Birmingham City side and took all three points at the King Power on Saturday afternoon. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gave the Foxes the lead midway through the first half, only to see it wiped out by a horrific error by Mads Hermansen, who deflected the ball off of Jay Stansfield and into his own net. Stephy Mavididi’s header just before the end of regular time secured the win for the hosts.
Just as the win against Norwich City earlier this week marked a return to form, this too was a match that followed a script we saw regularly during the fall. Leicester had 68% of the possession, took 19 shots, put 9 on target, and won 10 corners. The squad stayed calm and patient even after a defensive error gave the opponents a goal. In the end, the pressure paid off and Leicester grabbed a thoroughly deserved late winner.
There was a lot to like about the performance today. Birmingham City were seldom able to impose themselves on the match and their goal came out of absolutely nowhere. The defenders looked assured, the midfield was ticking, and the wingers caused all kinds of problems. Today, most of the damage came from the left side (Editor’s note: Gee Jake, you think so? What tipped you off? The goal scorers?) but Fatawu and Ndidi were frequently just inches from getting their angles right.
On another day, the Foxes might win this one 4-0, but it’s telling that they were able to dig deep and get the points even when this wasn’t “another day.” The belief in the system has returned and, with it, the results. Also, kudos to the team for not letting the off-field financial situation become a distraction. I’m able to cope with it by sticking my fingers in my ears and going “Nya nya nya nya I can’t hear you!” but I doubt this option is available to the playing staff. If it were, you can bet it would have hit TikTok by now.
The victory gives Leicester 88 points from 40 matches and sees the Foxes return to the top of the table. With both Ipswich Town and Leeds losing, City now lead their rivals by one and two points respectively. Crucially, the Foxes also have a game in hand on both of them. There are only six matches left for Leicester, the next coming on Tuesday evening against Millwall in London. The following Friday, we visit the south coast to take on Plymouth at the imaginatively named Home Park.
Lineups
Leicester City: Mads Hermansen, Ricardo Pereira (C), Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard, Callum Doyle, Wilfred Ndidi, Harry Winks, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Abdul Fatawu, Stephy Mavididi, Patson Daka
Birmingham City: John Ruddy, Dion Sanderson, Emanuel Aiwu, Lee Buchanan, Ethan Laird, Jordan James, Krystian Bielik, Paik Seung-Ho, Jay Stansfield, Juninho Bacuna, Koji Miyoshi Key Moments and Notes
1’- This is the third time the Foxes have faced Birmingham City and the third different manager at the helm for the Blues. Meme manager Wayne Rooney was in charge in December when the Foxes won 3-2 in the league. Tony Mowbray was the boss in January when Leicester knocked Birmingham out of the FA Cup. Today, the Blues are led by former Fox Gary Rowett. It’s been a turbulent year at St. Andrews; both John Eustace and Mark Venus came and went without facing the Foxes.
6’- It is all Leicester City from the opening whistle. City...no, the blue City...no, Leicester City...have had something like 85% of the possession and it’s been very purposeful possession. Also, I hate it when we play another “City” and they normally wear blue.
10’- Penalty/Free kick shout for the Foxes? Mavididi beats Laird to a through ball from KDH. The defender seems to nudge the former Arsenal winger over right on the edge of the area.
15’- Cannot overstate the difference Ricardo makes in this system. He’s so clever in the space behind the front three.
27’- GOAL! Kienan Dewsbury-Hall finishes from Daka’s unselfish layoff. Huge contribution from Fatawu, who wins the ball while on the deck to slip it to Daka. 35’- Birmingham have reacted well to going down a goal but they’re having the same issues the Foxes have faced at the other end: There are just too many bodies in the box to play through.
40’- It’s a windy afternoon at the King Power. Both sides are really struggling to get long balls on target. You’d think this would favour the Foxes, and, for the most part, it has. The risk is that Faes or Vestergaard lose track of a floated ball over the top and a striker gets in. We’ve certainly seen it once or twice this year.
45’- GOAL! Oh no! Where did that come from. The Foxes play a goal kick from Faes to Hermansen. The keeper dawdles on it and Stansfield nips in to deflect the hurried clearance into the net. HALF-TIME: Leicester City 1 - 1 Birmingham City
46’- One change for the Foxes: James Justin is on for Doyle. No indication of whether or not it’s a tactical change or if the Manchester City loanee picked up a knock.
49’- Close! Mavididi chips in a cross and Ndidi times his run perfectly. It’s on target and has loads of power, but it’s too close to Ruddy.
50’- Close! Fatawu cuts inside from the wing and his shot is a good one, but Ruddy gets across the line to parry it. Fine save from the veteran keeper.
54’- Close! Ndidi gets behind the defence and stands up a cross to the far post. Justin has a free header, but Miyoshi grabs his arm and pulls him down. The ball bounces to Vestergaard, who tries a bicycle kick that’s easily gathered. If the Championship had VAR, that’s a penalty all day. Not sure how referee David Webb missed that one.
JJ appears to be pulled down at the back post by Miyoshi as he was about to get on the end of a Fatawu cross but the referee says no penalty. #LCFC — Rob Tanner (@RobTannerLCFC) April 6, 2024
See? It’s not just me.
60’- Jamie Vardy is on for Daka. Daka’s workrate was outstanding and his assist was brilliant, but he’ll be disappointed not to have scored today.
66’- The entire stadium stands to sing “Champions of England - You Made Us Sing That” in tribute to Khun Vichai, who would have been 66 on Thursday. 73’- Leicester take their 8th corner of the match and it proves as effective as the other 7.
82’- Enzo Maresca sends Dennis Praet and Yunus Akgun on for Ndidi and Fatawu respectively. Wilf and Abdul both showed flashes of great play but neither could find the final ball.
85’- Faes plays a ball over the top for Vardy and it looks like the GOAT will get there, but Aiwu wraps both arms around the striker and the ball rolls to Ruddy. Not quite sure how that wasn’t called.
88’- GOAL! An unmarked Mavididi meets Yunus Akgun’s far post cross. The former Montpellier man nods home to give the Foxes a 2-1 advantage. The whole move was set up by a marauding run by Vestergaard, because of course it was. I think we’ll forgive the yellow card in this instance.
90’- FIVE minutes of time will be added on.
95’- With 5 seconds of time added on remaining, Conor Coady comes on for Mavididi.
97’- Vardy wins a corner. I would not expect this one to be played more than a foot or two from the flag...and it isn’t. There goes the whistle!
FULL TIME: Leicester City 2 - 1