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Tag: Leicester

  • EPL: Liverpool beat Leicester with Jota’s brace to stay 9 points behind leaders

    EPL: Liverpool beat Leicester with Jota’s brace to stay 9 points behind leaders

    Liverpool closed the gap on English Premier League (EPL) leaders Manchester City to nine points as Diogo Jota’s double earned them a 2-0 victory over Leicester City on Thursday.

    After Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Brentford on Wednesday extended their advantage at the top to 12 points, second-placed Liverpool needed to issue a response.

    They edged in front in the first half at Anfield, thanks to Jota’s close-range finish.

    Mohamed Salah came off the bench to a rapturous applause to make his first appearance since returning from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

    The Egyptian striker curled a sumptuous effort against the post as Liverpool pressed for a second.

    That second did not look like it was going to come as chances continued to come and go.

    But Jota remained ruthless in the penalty area, drilling home the game-clinching goal three minutes from time.

    The win moved Liverpool onto 51 points from 23 games, with leaders Manchester City having played one game more.

    Leicester City’s poor season continued as they remain languishing down in 12th in the standings.

  • Why I like watching Jamie Vardy – Haaland

    Why I like watching Jamie Vardy – Haaland

    Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland says he takes inspiration from Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.

    The 21-year-old is considered one of the best strikers in world football despite his young age.

    And Haaland – a target for Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid amongst others – has cited Vardy as one of his idols.

    Asked by Sky Sports which players he learns from, Haaland replied: I’ve been watching a lot of players, let’s take for example the run in behind the centre-back when the No 10 has the ball.

    “You have maybe the best in the world at that, Jamie Vardy. I’ve been looking a lot at him on exactly this.

    “I have always been watching a lot of football and I still do.

    “When we play Saturday, I go home on Sunday and watch football all day.”

  • Tielemans hits brace as Leicester thrash Newcastle

    Tielemans hits brace as Leicester thrash Newcastle

    Youri Tielemans scored twice as Leicester City bounced back from their Europa League exit to earn an emphatic Premier League victory over Newcastle United at the King Power Stadium.

    Making his first Premier League start since 7 November following a calf injury, Tielemans converted a 38th-minute penalty after Jamaal Lascelles was adjudged to have brought down James Maddison.

    A quality attacking move, initiated by Maddison’s sublime pass for Harvey Barnes using the outside of his boot, resulted in a simple finish for Patson Daka as the Foxes moved out of sight in the second half.

    After Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel did brilliantly to sprint back and prevent a Timothy Castagne own-goal, Tielemans was set up by Maddison for his second before the England midfielder got the goal his impressive performance deserved with five minutes remaining.

    Brendan Rodgers’ side – eliminated from the Europa League group stage with a 3-2 defeat by Napoli on Thursday – move up to eighth in the table after only a second victory in seven league games.

    Newcastle, meanwhile, remain in the relegation places and three points from safety.

  • Europa: Napoli midfielder loses tooth in collision with Ndidi

    Europa: Napoli midfielder loses tooth in collision with Ndidi

    Napoli midfielder Hirving Lozano lost a tooth in their Europa League win against Leicester City.

    With half-time approaching, Lozano was forced from the pitch after a nasty collision with Wilfred Ndidi.

    Lozano was running with the ball before his toe stuck in the turf with his head then connecting with Ndidi’s knee, knocking a tooth out of the Mexican’s mouth. An incident similar to the injury he suffered in the Gold Cup with Mexico.

    The referee quickly called for a stretcher onto the pitch and Lozano was fitted with a neck brace before being taken from the field.

  • Napoli Win Thriller To Knock Leicester Out Of Europa League

    Napoli Win Thriller To Knock Leicester Out Of Europa League

    Napoli sent Leicester crashing out of the Europa League as the Italian side advanced to the knockout stages with a 3-2 win in a dramatic conclusion to Group C on Thursday.

    Leicester were top of the group going into the final round of matches, but Brendan Rodgers’ team were condemned to an unwanted place in the Europa Conference League after the defeat in Naples dropped them to third place.

    Napoli had blown a two-goal lead as Leicester hit back to level by half-time, but Eljif Elmas’s second goal of the game won it for the hosts after the interval.

    Spartak Moscow finished top of the group after a 1-0 win at Legia Warsaw, secured by Zelimkhan Bakaev’s 17th-minute goal.

    Leicester would have salvaged their Europa League place if Legia’s Tomas Pekhart hadn’t missed a stoppage-time penalty.

    Napoli ended in second place, two points ahead of Leicester, and will feature in the Europa League knockout round play-offs in February.

    Continuing a disappointing season for the FA Cup holders, Leicester now have the unwanted burden of playing in the knockout play-off round of Europe’s least glamourous club competition when it resumes in the new year.

    “I’ve got to be honest I don’t even know what the competition is,” Rodgers said of the Europa Conference League.

    “I was focused on the Europa League and winning this group and at the very least finishing second. But I am sure we will find out soon enough.”

    Seven Leicester players and three staff members missed the trip to Italy, with Rodgers revealing both positive Covid-19 cases and other illnesses had depleted his squad.

    He was still able to name eight of the team beaten by Aston Villa last weekend, in contrast to Napoli, who are in the midst of a major injury crisis which deprived them of Victor Osimhen, Kalidou Koulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne and Fabian Ruiz.

    Despite their fitness issues, Napoli took the lead in the fourth minute as Adam Ounas marked his first start for the club since 2019 with a clinical low strike from just inside the penalty area.

    Napoli struck again in the 24th minute when Andrea Petagna beat Leicester’s offside trap and squared his pass to Elmas, who slotted past Kasper Schmeichel with ease.

  • I owe Claudio Ranieri for Leicester chance – Ndidi

    I owe Claudio Ranieri for Leicester chance – Ndidi

    Wilfred Ndidi admits he’s grateful to Watford boss Claudio Ranieri for signing him for Leicester City.

    The midfielder was Ranieri’s final signing at the Foxes when he joined from Genk for £17million in January 2017.

    Ndidi has made 188 appearances for the Foxes, helping them win the FA Cup last season, and thanked Ranieri for having faith in him.

    “I’m very grateful to him because he gave me the opportunity to come to Leicester and play in the Premier League for the first time,” Ndidi said.

    “That was a really important move in my career, so I’ll always remember it. Joining Leicester City has been fantastic for me. It’s a great club.”

  • EPL: Pulisic scores on return as Chelsea defeat Leicester

    EPL: Pulisic scores on return as Chelsea defeat Leicester

    Premier League leaders Chelsea ruthlessly tightened their grip on top spot by punishing the failings of lacklustre Leicester at King Power Stadium.

    Antonio Rudiger continued his habit of scoring against the Foxes with a glancing, looping header from a corner whipped in by ex-Leicester wing-back Ben Chilwell.

    Another former Foxes favourite, midfielder N’Golo Kante, doubled the lead by firing home from the edge of the box after being allowed to roam 30 yards virtually unchallenged.

    Chelsea could have been out of sight by half-time, Chilwell grazing the bar when he should have scored from an early one-on-one with Kasper Schmeichel , who later denied Kante with his legs.

    Leicester offered more as an attacking force after the break as Edouard Mendy made a fabulous save to tip away a fierce long-range shot from Daniel Amartey and Jamie Vardy headed over from close range.

    But Chelsea, who stretched their lead at the top to six points before Saturday’s later kick-offs, could have had more as Schmeichel saved smartly from Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi curled inches over.

    The Blues had also three goals ruled out for offside, the assistant’s flag foiling Hudson-Odoi, Reece James and Christian Pulisic, who capped his return from injury by slotting home Chelsea’s third from Hakim Ziyech’s cross.

  • Kasper Schmeichel admits Leicester exit plan

    Kasper Schmeichel admits Leicester exit plan

    Kasper Schmeichel admits he’d consider leaving Leicester City before retirement.

    The Foxes captain is a Premier League and FA Cup winner, but still feels there’s more to achieve.

    “It must be said that when I look back and one day I’m done, it’s not having played enough Champions League, it gnaws at me and will always do so until it happens again,” he told Discovery+.

    “It is a complex situation, but I definitely think that before I stop, I must also try to play somewhere else.

    “I’m very open. It does not have to be for money or anything. I have to choose it because it’s the right thing to do, because it’s a place that wants something.

    “I’ll never go to a place where I just have to enjoy life, I can not imagine.

    “Right now I have everything I have ever dreamed of – but I still want more.”

  • Real Madrid, Man Utd target Super Eagles star

    Real Madrid, Man Utd target Super Eagles star

    Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is on Manchester United’s radar.

    Mundo Deportivo says United will make a move for Ndidi.

    The £60million-rated midfielder is also a Real Madrid target. Defensive midfielder Ndidi, 24, is one of the best in his position in the Premier League.

    And it’s an area which United are desperate to improve.

    Real Madrid, meanwhile, are eager to bring in the Nigerian international as midfield options to cover the likes of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.

  • EPL: Arsenal defeat Leicester at King Power Stadium

    EPL: Arsenal defeat Leicester at King Power Stadium

    Arsenal continued their recent resurgence with a comfortable Premier League win over Leicester City at King Power Stadium.

    The visitors capitalised on a lacklustre start from the hosts to dominate the early exchanges and were rewarded with a two-goal lead inside 20 minutes.

    Gabriel put the Gunners in front, climbing above several static Leicester defenders to head in from Bukayo Saka’s corner, while Emile Smith Rowe picked his spot when the ball broke to him after good work from Saka and Alexandre Lacazette.

    Mikel Arteta’s side are now unbeaten in seven top-flight games and climb from 10th to fifth in the table, level on points with fourth-placed West Ham, before Saturday’s other fixtures.

    It was a disappointing afternoon for Leicester who remain in mid-table.

    Brendan Rodgers’ side were roared on by an enthusiastic home crowd but struggled to find the rhythm and poise that helped them to successive victories over Manchester United and Brentford.

    James Maddison’s curling free-kick just before the break brought a fine save from Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale but despite a significant improvement after the break they were unable to claw themselves back into the contest.