Brentford 1-3 Leicester: second half turnaround sends Foxes through

Match breakdown

Leicester opened well, generating a number of chances down the right hand side through Turkish winger Cengiz Ünder, first teeing up Ayoze Pérez, and then forcing a corner himself from a tight angle. However, the Foxes were unable to convert either opportunity, with Brentford winning a corner for themselves soon after.  A scramble in the box followed with the East Midlands side unable to clear the ball effectively, putting the Bees one goal to the good.

Leicester attempted to mount a response, coming close with a James Maddison free kick at the 22′ minute mark, but this is where City’s chances in the first half came to an end. What followed was 25 minutes of some of the worst football I’ve been able to bear witness to- a first time viewer wouldn’t be able to tell you which side was 3rd in the Premier League and which was 4th in the Championship. Misplaced passes, poor tackles and generally sloppy play would ensure that Leicester City went into the break a goal down.

Whatever Brendan Rodgers said in the changing room at half time, it certainly did the trick. The Leicester side that walked out of the tunnel post-45′ were lightyears from the one that preceded them, as just six minutes later, Leicester’s 1 goal deficit turned into a 1 goal lead. The seemingly on fire James Maddison stormed forwards, committing two Brentford defenders and doing well to stay on his feet, before playing Cengiz Ünder into acres of space, who curled it into the corner with a left-footed strike. Minutes later, Fosu-Henry brought down Youri Tielemans in the area, with the Belgian sending Brentford ‘keeper Luke Daniels the wrong way shortly after.

From here, the Foxes began to reimpose their domination on the game, as chance after chance fell for the visitors. Harvey Barnes sliced wide, while Ricardo Pereira’s cutback found James Maddison, who failed to convert, but the Englishman would get his goal soon enough. Harvey Barnes once again found himself in space down the left-hand side, firing at the Brentford goal with Daniels spilling directly into the path of Leicester’s No. 10, who left no doubt. Thomas Frank’s men tried their hardest to get back into the game from here, but the deficit proved too large and it was Leicester City who advanced to the next round.