Leicester City 3 Crystal Palace 1: No Champions League hangover for Claudio Ranieri’s men as Foxes bat away Eagles
Leicester made it 20 games unbeaten at home in the Premier League with a comfortable victory over Palace this afternoon
Sponsored by
LEICESTER CITY romped home to an impressive 3-0 triumph against Crystal Palace, showing no signs of a European hangover.
Some eyebrows were raised around the King Power Stadium ahead of kick-off when Jamie Vardy was named on the bench.
But Leicester ensured the goalscoring boots were passed on. Ahmed Musa scored the opener three minutes before half-time when Islam Slimani set up his striker partner for his first Foxes goal.
Keep up to date with ALL the Leicester City news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary by clicking HERE
And Shinji Okazaki netted the second for the hosts when he picked up Damien Delaney's clearance to rifle home.
A fine Christian Fuchs effort made it 3-0 to the champions, before Yoann Cabaye pulled back a late consolation for Alan Pardew's men.
Facts, stats, lols and goals
- Jamie Vardy was dropped for a Premier League match for the first time since Leicester lost 2-0 at Manchester City on March 4, 2015. A niggling groin injury prompted Claudio Ranieri to leave his star striker on the bench at the start.
- Palace boss Alan Pardew brought in Yohan Cabaye for the injured Jason Puncheon. Puncheon’s absence was a blow for Christian Benteke who has had 10 of his chances this season created by the missing midfielder.
- The match was preceded by a minute’s applause in appreciation of His Majesty the King of Thailand who passed away last week. Leicester also lined up for a solemn team photo with a gold-framed portrait of the Thai King in the midst of their ranks.
- Steve Mandanda was the latest keeper to almost come a cropper by trying to be too clever with the ball at his feet. His sloppy attempted pass went straight to Shinji Okazaki, who chipped the stranded Frenchman, only for the ball to drift just over the gaping goal.
- Christian Benteke came even closer after 13 minutes when he smacked the woodwork with a powerful header which beat Kasper Schmeichel all ends up. Pardew’s men clearly fancied their chances of causing an upset.
- Referee Mike Oliver really should have checked Riyad Mahrez’s boots after a particularly mazy run midway through the first half – to make sure it wasn’t made of Velcro!
- Talking of the man in the middle, it was nice to have someone in charge who wasn’t terrified of his supervisor sitting in the stand. Oliver let the game flow and didn’t seem hell-bent on halting play for every piffling infringement.
- Riyad Mahrez appears to have cottoned on to the fact he has poor Martin Kelly on toast and can give him the runaround. The outcome of this game could hinge on how often Mahrez isolates his nervy opponent.
- Wow. No sooner said than Crystal Palace were done! Leicester hit the front with a quite fantastic goal from Ahmed Musa. But it was Ward who opened the door for the Nigerian by fatally moving to his left to cover Mahrez’s run.
- The golden rule of defending is to deal with the biggest threat to your goal first and worry about closing down the guys in wide areas while the ball is travelling to them!
- Musa’s celebration mirrored Islam Slimani’s when he got off the mark against Burnley recently, with the little Nigerian going down on his knees to kiss the King Power turf.
- Shinji Okazaki’s celebration when he finally put this game to bed after 63 minutes was slightly more off the cuff. The tireless Japanese forward took off, waving his arms wildly and punching the air in delight after scoring his first Premier goal of the season.
- Christian Fuchs rounded off a great week for himself after signing a new contract, by slamming in Leicester’s third with a sensational volley.
- Three points in the bag - the perfect belated birthday present for Claudio Ranieri who turned 65 on Thursday!
Next five fixtures
Leicester City
Sat Oct 29 - Tottenham (a)
Weds Nov 2 - Copenhagen (Champions League, a)
Sun Nov 6 - West Brom (h)
Sat Nov 19 - Watford (a)
Tues Nov 22 - Club Brugge (h)
Crystal Palace
Sat Oct 29 - Liverpool (h)
Sat Nov 5 - Burnley (a)
Sat Nov 19 - Manchester City (h)
Sat Nov 26 - Swansea (a)
Sat Dec 3 - Southampton (h)
Big Picture
Social says
Dream Team ratings
Leicester City: Schmeichel 7; Simpson 7, Morgan 6, Huth 7, Fuchs 8, Mahrez 6, Drinkwater 7, King 6 (Amartey 6), Musa 8 (Gray), Okazaki 7, Slimani 6 (Vardy 6).
Goals: Musa (42), Okazaki (63), Fuchs (80)
Booked: None
Crystal Palace: Mandanda 4, Ward 7, Tomkins 6, Delaney 6, Kelly 6 (Fryers) McArthur 5, Ledley 6 (Lee Chung-yong 6), Townsend 6 (Campbell 5), Cabaye 8, Zaha 8, Benteke 7.
Goals: Cabaye (80)
Booked: None