Leicester City marched into the 5th round of the FA Cup with a sumptuous second half display at giant-killing Brentford.
Brendan Rodgers foxes turned on the style after going into the half time break trailing 1-0 with a potential upset on the cards. After another example of how not to defend a set piece in the sixth minute Bech Sorensen pounced to give the West London side the advantage.
Leicester had already squandered 2 good openings from Perez and Under and struggled to test Brentford’s stand-in keeper Daniels. Danny Ward pulled off key saves to ensure the Foxes did not go down further heading into half time.
The second half started in a completely different fashion with James Maddison turning on a six pence to set up Cengiz Under for a fine finish. A few minutes later and Youri Tielemans was dispatching a penalty he had won from an admittedly dubious foul. From taking the lead Leicester City were their typical bullish selves. keeping the opposition at arms length on the ball and creating chances. The game was over when Maddison completed the scoring with an open goal.
Leicester will now face Brighton & Hove Albion in the next round of a competition they have failed to get past the quarter finals for 39 years.
Player ratings – 7 equals a steady game
Danny Ward – 7
Some excellent and strong saves in the first half ensured Leicester were still in the game, his distribution was good and the times he was called to run off his line from some of Amartey’s short back passes was dealt with. He almost undid a decent performance when he fumbled a simple shot that should have been converted on the rebound.
Ricardo Pereira – 7 (subbed on 69 )
Still not completely up to speed, this was a valuable game in his recovery back to full strength. He ran the line well and offered support where necessary. By anyone else’s standards this would be a good performance but Ricardo has much more to his game and that will hopefully return when he is back to full fitness.
Caglar Soyuncu – 7
Soyuncu got a much needed 90 minutes under his belt since returning from injury. He’s eager to impress and displayed that with excellent wins from crosses, strong challenges, good travelling with the ball and solid possession. He also displayed his erratic behaviour when sliding into challenges unnecessarily and heading a simple clearance into the 6 yard box. He’s a great defender, but right now he is behind Wesley Fofana in the pecking order.
Daniel Amartey – 6
Defending on the Bees’ opening goal was poor, whether zonal or man marking the header was there to be won and shouldn’t have got through. A few short back passes caused Danny Ward to panic slightly. He kept calm at the back on most occasions though and won some decent blocks and clearances. Still not convinced centre back is his strongest position.
Luke Thomas – 7
Marshalled his left hand side superbly, whilst also putting in a few crosses of poor quality and misplacing some passes. Second half his link up play with Barnes proved more effective and could have heralded a goal or two with some more luck.
Nampalys Mendy – 7 subbed on 69
Struggled to get into the game but offered his usual protection in the withdrawn midfield role.
Youri Tielemans – 8
Anonymous in the first half with little attacking threat bar a tame effort wide. But after winning a soft penalty he clinically dispatched, his performance oozed with class. He picked out key passes out wide and enabled the team to cause Brentford plenty of threats as the game wore on. When he ticks, so do Leicester.
Harvey Barnes – 8
A constant threat on the left hand side, cutting onto his inside and causing Brentford full backs to backtrack. Should have been rewarded with a goal for his efforts.
James Maddison – 9 – Man of the match
A quiet first half mainly noted by trying to win cheap fouls, But at the start of the second half he showed his class with excellent close control to set Under up for the equaliser. His performance continued to impress in the second with neat link up play and a desire to get forward and bring the rest of the team forward. Rewarded for his persistence with a goal.
Cengiz Under – 8 (subbed off at 75)
An impressive figure that offered equal menace down the right hand side to Barnes left. Even in the first half he managed to cause issues by going inside and outside the defender keeping them guessing. A well taken finish right at the start of the half should have been added to later on when he sliced his shot with the goal gaping. An impressive performance all the same.
Ayoze Perez – 7 (subbed off at 80)
Showed incredible work rate throughout but his finishing just lacked the required finesse to be a complete performance. He’ll be encouraged that he caused Brentford plenty of problems and was a team player throughout. He’s no Jamie Vardy but he might just be good enough until he returns.
Substitutes
Wilfred Ndidi – 7 (on at 69)
Kept it neat and tidy with a precise performance trying not to over exert himself before a likely starting berth against Everton.
Timothy Castagne – 7 (on at 69)
Tried to keep it comfortable but couldn’t help himself venturing forward with his trademark runs.
Kelechi Iheanacho – 7 (on at 75)
Looked more urgent and hard working than normal but again struggled to be effective, gave the ball away trying some tricks on a run.
Marc Albrighton – 7 (on at 80)
Didn’t really get into the game but did little wrong either.