Leicester 2-1 Brentford: 3 Things FoL learned from Foxes victory

On a sunny day on Filbert Way, Leicester City continued a recent upsurge in form with a victory over Thomas Frank’s industrious Brentford. The three points elevated the team into the top half of the table and with a half a sniff of a higher finish. But what were the three key things we learned?

He’s magic you know…

This was a fine day of LCFC performances. James Maddison was back to his swaggering ruthless best with drops of the shoulders, dribbling out of tight spaces and of course a sizzling free-kick that seemed to have wound up the Brentford fans enough for them to scoff at his England potential. Nampalys Mendy showed his worth with a solid display in midfield that helped tick the game over. Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey added this to another impressive defensive performance, but in this game there was one player who stood out amongst the rest.

Last season Kelechi Iheanacho got the plaudits for his goalscoring prowess, hitting a player of the month award 12 months ago before finishing as the club’s top scorer. But this season his all-round game has improved even further, with this game showcasing his progression in great detail. His hold-up play was fantastic, keeping the ball close and in tight areas and using his physique to hold off central defenders. He then confidently would pick a pass when the right runs were made. Nearly setting up James Justin for a third goal in the first half.

The Nigerian won headers and aggressively closed down from the front causing the Bees to turn backward and give the ball away. He nearly topped this off with what would have been an amazing goal. He won the ball high up the pitch and showed an amazing turn of pace to close in on goal, but his confidence got the better of him as his delicate chip beat the keeper but also the goal. It didn’t matter though as when he was subbed late on, the Leicester faithful all cheered and clapped an all-round display to be proud of. They used to sing “he’s magic…” to Iheanacho ironically, not anymore. He’s the real deal.