James Maddison breathed life into Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester reign with a display that may hasten the end of Steve Cooper’s tenure at Nottingham Forest.
Maddison scored twice, had one hand in the other and teased Forest all night with his guile and vision. Gareth Southgate somehow continues to ignore him, despite England’s creativity woes. Helped Leicester off the bottom of the table and sent Forest down there.
Leicester were thumped 4-1 by Forest in the FA Cup in February, but got revenge here with their first win of the season. If this one had gone the other way, who knows what would have been Rodgers’ fate in the days to come?
James Maddison scored twice to lead Leicester to their first Premier League win of the season
Maddison opened the scoring when his shot from outside the area took a poor deflection
Instead, Maddison’s brace, either side of Harvey Barnes’ stunner, put the Foxes 3-0 up at the break before substitute Patson Daka added a mischievous fourth, and now it’s Cooper who fears for his future After spending £150m in the summer, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is unlikely to accept a run of five successive defeats and while Cooper worked a miracle to lead Forest last season, he may it won’t be enough to save him.
His reputation as one of the game’s brightest managers remains intact, however, and Forest fans made their feelings clear, chanting Cooper’s name regularly, even as Leicester supporters mocked him their job prospects.
Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanprabha, known as Khun Top, was watching from the directors’ box and had urged the disillusioned home fans to urge their team on in this vital game.
Harvey Barnes celebrates as his stunning brace puts Leicesters ahead in the first half
Maddison made it three-nil with a superb free-kick that left Dean Henderson stranded in goal.
Sure enough, they heeded his call and should have been rewarded with an early goal. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall somehow headed Maddison’s cross from an unmarked position inside the six-yard box, before Jamie Vardy also headed a free-kick wide and then fired straight at Dean Henderson after Barnes had released him with a glorious pass from deep.
Steve Cooper (left) is now under immense pressure as Forest boss, while Brendan Rodgers (right) has bought time in the Leicester dugout.
Leicester were dominant in the first 20 minutes, but remain so fragile at the back. Before this one, they had conceded 22 goals in their first seven games and Taiwo Awoniyi was desperately close to making it 23.
Played in by Wout Faes, the Nigerian raced onto Morgan Gibbs-White’s ball and, when Danny Ward hesitated, shot against the post.
How Forest were made to pay as Leicester progressed. Jesse Lingard made a mess of a clearance on the edge of the box and Maddison gathered it before firing over. Henderson moved towards it, but once the ball clipped Scott McKenna’s arm, he could only watch it go past him.
The Forest players looked for answers during their 4-0 hammering of the King Power
Leicester’s surprise win also earned them their first clean sheet of the new season
If Leicester were lucky there, the second was a moment of pure class. Maddison found Barnes on the left and the winger cut inside before producing a perfect strike that curled beyond Henderson. Two goals in just 110 seconds.
Under pressure, Cooper had switched to a quarter-back for this game in an attempt to change his team’s fortunes, to little avail. Ten minutes before the break, Cheikhou Kouyate pushed Dewsbury-Hall into the box and Maddison did the rest, sending his free-kick over the wall and off the post. Are you watching Gareth?
Cooper certainly wished he wasn’t as he was, hands on knees and head bowed, in the penalty area as the home fans chanted “You’re off in the morning”. Rodgers has heard that chant far too often this season, so hearing it directed at someone else must have been a relief.
Despite his side’s advantage, Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward looked particularly nervous. He was once again indecisive early in the second half when the home defense were caught out when Awoniyi ran clear, although this time at least he made an important save.
Patson Daka made it 4-0 with a brilliant backheel to score the only goal of the second half.
Daka celebrates as his goal ensures Leicester complete all three points against Forest
At the other end, Barnes’ volley hit Steve Cook on the arm but nothing came of it, to the fury of the home fans who had watched replays on the big screen. Forest had also made three changes at half-time, with Kouyate, Lewis O’Brien and Neco Williams.
The Forest fans continued to support their team even as Leicester added their fourth. Daka had replaced Vardy on the hour and when Maddison sent in a low cross from the right, the Zambian showed fabulous invention to wrong-foot Henderson with a Johan Cruyff-esque strike that snuck in located through the goalkeeper’s hand.
Leicester (4-3-3): Ward 6; Castagne 7, Evans 6.5, Faes 6.5, Justin 6; Tielemans 8 (Praet 80), Ndidi 6 (Soumare 46, 6.5), Dewsbury-Hall 6.5; Maddison 8.5 (Albrighton 85), Vardy 6 (Daka 62, 7), Barnes 7.5.
Scorers: Maddison 25, 34, Barnes 27, Daka 72
Booked: Soumare, Maddison,
Manager: Brendan Rodgers 8
Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Henderson 6; Williams 5 (Aurier 46, 6), Cook 5.5, McKenna 6, Lodi 5; Kouyate 5 (Freuler 46, 6), O’Brien 5 (Yates 46, 6); Johnson 6.5, Gibbs-White 6, Lingard 4.5 (Mangala 69, 6); Awoniyi 6 (Dennis 62, 6).
Reserved: Williams, Kouyate, Lingard
Manager: Steve Cooper 5
Referee: Robert Jones 6