26 October 2024
Leicester 1 Nott’m Forest 3
Steve Cooper’s side have managed to start to grind out results in the Premier League of late, meaning that they have pulled away from the bottom three. In-form Nottingham Forest were the visitors to the King Power Stadium, having only lost a single game this season. Striker Chris Wood is thriving under the stewardship of Nuno Espirito Santo.
The visitors started on the front foot, forcing an early corner. The Foxes half-cleared the ball but could not get out of their own half. Buonanotte tried to dribble the ball out of his own penalty area, something he was soon going to regret. Forest picked his pocket and quickly worked it to Yates outside of the box.
He struck the ball cleanly into the bottom corner of the goal with Hermansen not able to get anywhere near it. It was the worst possible start The Foxes could have hoped for. The King Power Stadium had fallen silent, an ideal place to come and read your favourite book if you were that way inclined on a Friday night.
That was going to last for all of seven minutes. Winks crossed into the box and Vardy attacked the ball, diverting it past Sels to equalise. The stadium erupted with noise as the hosts had got themselves back on level terms. Credit where it’s due, many questioned whether Leicester’s veteran striker could still do it at this level and he is certainly proving his doubters wrong.
The visitors almost found an immediate reply. After forcing a corner, the ball was headed towards the back post. Murillo met it with a fierce volley but somehow Hermansen deflected it wide of the goal. The Leicester City keeper was showing his true class so far this season and keeping The Foxes in most of their games in the top-flight.
Hudson-Odoi was causing problems for Cooper’s side. Picking the ball up in wide areas and dribbling at the defence, none of the Leicester players could get anywhere near him. In one such mazy run, he fired off a shot from some way out. It was heading into the far corner but for another brilliant save from The Foxes’ keeper.
All too often the hosts kept giving the ball away in dangerous areas of the pitch. Anderson managed to pick out Wood in the box, with his back to goal. He spun on a sixpence to drill his shot into the bottom corner against his former employers. You cannot afford to give the potent striker any time or space near the goal on his current form.
The Foxes felt they should have had a penalty when Vardy went down in the box. It did seem that there was contact but a VAR review decided there was nothing doing. More than anything, it was likely that they felt the Leicester striker would not have got to the ball anyway as the keeper was always favourite to collect.
Forest came forward with Hudson-Odoi once again. He cut inside onto his right foot and looked to bend one in the far corner. His shot came crashing back off the woodwork and Anderson dragged the follow-up wide of the target. It was a big chance for the visitors to put this game to bed. A let-off for Steve Cooper’s side nonetheless.
The away end was still celebrating when Leicester hit the self-destruct button. An innocuous ball forward saw Faes allow the ball to bounce instead of attacking it. He then attempted to head it back to his own keeper and got it all wrong. Wood ghosted in to deftly head over Hermansen to secure the points for the visitors.
Since the Forest manager took charge, only Haaland and Palmer have scored more goals than Wood. The Kiwi striker is in the form of his life, with 18 goals during that period to underline the fact. As long as Forest can keep him fit, the sky is the limit for them this season you feel. Their most notable victory this season was a one-nil victory against Liverpool at Anfield.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side continued to press and did not take their foot off the gas. As a corner was swung into the box, Murillo tried to steer it towards goal. Yates found himself two yards out, in the middle of the goal, somehow lifting his shot over the bar. It was a massive chance to add a fourth for the visitors. Fortunately it was not going to cost them any points.
The visitors held on for the three points and moved to sixth in the table. Leicester remain five points clear of the bottom three, with safety the only thing on their mind this campaign. Cooper knows they have to improve on this performance and need to cut out the simple mistakes they made in this game. Turning the King Power Stadium into more of a fortress will also be key to their plight.
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