Match Report: Leicester City 3 - 0 Preston North End

Recap

Leicester City made League Championship history by thrashing Preston North End by a score of 3-0 at the King Power on Wednesday evening. A goalless first half could have led to a nervy finish, but a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall brace on either side of a Kelechi Iheanacho strike ensured the Foxes would get their record-breaking 9th win in 10 matches.

The Lillywhites were content to let the Foxes have the ball for long periods of time and that strategy without offering much of anything going forward. City struggled to break down a well-drilled defence, but guess what? Everyone does. We’re going to have to get used to it. This is going to be something we face a lot of this year, especially at home.

Given that we have a record number of points from the first ten matches, you’d be safe in assuming we sit atop the table. The 27 points are good for a 2-point lead over Ipswich Town and, more importantly, 7 points ahead of third-place Preston. We host Stoke City this Saturday, playing our 3rd match in 7 days. After the ensuing international break, it’s off to Wales to face Swansea on 21 October.

Lineups

Leicester City: Mads Hermansen, Ricardo Pereira, Wout Faes, Conor Coady, James Justin, Wilfred Ndidi, Harry Winks, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Abdul Fatawu, Stephy Mavididi, Jamie Vardy (C)

Preston North End: Freddie Woodman, Liam Lindsay, Jack Whatmough, Alistair McCann, Brad Potts, Benjamin Whiteman, Liam Millar, Greg Cunningham, Milutin Osmajic, Robbie Brady, Duane Holmes

Key Moments and Notes

7’- It’s all City right now. Something very close to 100% of the possession and the danger man is...Wilfred Ndidi? He’s already floated two absolutely brilliant crosses past the face of the goal. It’s not quite coming off, but it looks very much as though it will.

18’- Close! Mavididi dashes past two defenders and taps it to KDH deep in the area. It’s almost the same position he scored from at Ewood Park on Sunday. This time some last-ditch defending sees his shot blocked.

33’- Faes has a go from distance. That counts as a “key moment” in this match. As comfortable as the Foxes look, PNE are just as comfortable letting us knock the ball around. 80% of the possession, but no shots on goal yet.

Photo by Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

42’- Close! City should count themselves lucky. Duane Holmes makes a run between the two centre-halfs and latches on to a perfect through ball. He snatches at his shot and curls it wide of the near post.

45’- It’s a wild ending to the half. Leicester clear a Preston corner and the break looks to be on. Mavididi flies after a loose ball with his boot up in the stratosphere. He catches a PNE player and the whistle blows. What’s the call? Half time! Funny old game.

HALF TIME: Leicester City 0 - 0 Preston North End

46’- Faes launches an early cross and finds Ndidi steaming into the area. It’s a little high but he leaps and gets decent contact on it. It sails a little high and wide.

54’- Not particularly close! The Foxes move the ball around crisply but tamely. It opens up a bit for KDH outside the “D.” He wraps his left foot around it and blasts it well wide and well over. There’s activity on the Leicester bench.

57’: CLOSE! A long Preston goal kick is tapped to Holmes. The former Derby man is given space to run and he has a pop from distance. It’s a low, raking effort and Hermansen has to be alert to turn it around the post.

60’-GOAL! Justin’s through ball finds Ndidi on the edge of the area. His square ball is behind Vardy, but the defender’s lunge pokes the ball into the no-man’s land between the defence and the keeper. Dewsbury-Hall pounces and has only the keeper to beat. There’s only going to be one result.

This is a perfect tweet. Nothing to add.

63’-A double substitution for the Foxes. Kelechi Iheanacho and Yunus Akgun come on for Vardy and Mavididi. Yunus’ first action is to arrive just a moment too late to turn Dewsbury-Hall’s low cross into the net.

75’-GOAL! It looked like the Foxes were going to just play keep ball and all of a sudden it’s 2-0 to City. Ricardo finds another gear and plays a ball forward to KDH. He plays a clever ball to Ndidi on the right side of the area. He dinks it first time a la Riyad Mahrez, finding Iheanacho alone in front of the goal. The Seniorman duly finishes from close range.

Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images

78’-Hamza Choudhury comes on for James Justin. He slots in at Justin’s left-back position which is, I believe, the first time I’ve seen him there. Warms my heart to see it.

81’-Close! Faes tries to be too cute deep in his own half and loses out to Ben Woodburn. Hermansen gets a hand to the substitute’s shot but can’t keep it out. However, the referee blew for a pillow-soft foul from Woodburn’s tackle. Lucky.

82’-Woodburn goes into the book for a late, late tackle on Ricardo. Please don’t hurt Ricardo. Fortunately, Ben Woodburn is no Jack Grealish and the Portuguese fullback is OK.

87’- Fatawu and Ndidi come off for Cesare Casadei and Marc Albrighton.

90’- GOAL! Another spectacular team move by the Foxes. Yunus does well to bring the ball out of defence and finds Iheanacho. He shows fantastic footwork and then launches an inch-perfect cross-field ball to Albrighton. Every blue shirt charges forward at full speed as we all know what’s coming. The GOAT takes a touch and crosses it about as perfectly as is possible. It finds Iheanacho’s toes and he lashes it goalward. Freddie Woodman makes his first save of the night, but he can only parry it to KDH who smashes it into the roof of the net.

FULL TIME: Leicester City 3 - 0 Preston North End

Enjoy it. It isn’t always like this. Most of the time, it isn’t like this.