Leicester City continued their resurgence under caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare as they notched up another 3-1 victory on Saturday night against bottom feeders Hull City at the King Power Stadium.
The visitors took an early lead after some good work on the left by Kamil Grosicki that led to a mistake from Kasper Schmeichel and midfielder Sam Clucas was on cue to capitalize on it. But the defending champions bounced back through Christian Fuchs after some lovely play between the full-back and Jamie Vardy.
With the score at 1-1 after the restart, Hull had a great chance to pull away, but Harry Maguire saw his effort bounce off the post. And not very long after, Riyad Mahrez put Leicester in the lead with a fine individual effort. The Tigers had a few chances in the game, with Grosicki and Niasse testing Schmeichel, but the Foxes held on. Tom Huddlestone put one into his own net in the stoppage time to put the result beyond a doubt in favour of Leicester.
The Foxes have won two consecutive games for the first time this season and as a result have somewhat pulled away from the relegation zone, five points above the 18th placed Middlesbrough. Let’s assess how each Leicester player fared on the afternoon:
Leicester City Player Ratings
Kasper Schmeichel – 6/10
Could only deflect Kamil Grosicki’s cross into the path of Clucas, who made no mistake. Made a good stop from Niasse’s effort late in the game.
Danny Simpson – 6/10
Had his hands full throughout the evening, dealing with the enterprise of Grosicki, but did not give the Polish international an inch. A solid show at the back.
Wes Morgan – 7/10
Did well for most of the game to keep Niasse at bay. Showed confidence carrying the ball out of defence on quite a few occasions.
Robert Huth – 7/10
Had a great chance in the first-half to get himself on the scoresheet, but squandered the opportunity. Set Mahrez on his way for the second goal. Defended extremely well.
Christian Fuchs – 7.5/10
The Austrian left-back attacked well on all night. Scored the equalizer in the first-half, finishing a move that he started after some neat interplay with Vardy.
Riyad Mahrez – 7/10
Quiet for the first period as has been the case in recent times. But displayed his skills and abilities on the way to a magnificent individual goal in the second period.
Danny Drinkwater – 6/10
Kept things ticking in the middle of the park as Leicester played through him for most of the game. Looked to release Vardy each time he was in possession.
Wilfred Ndidi – 7/10
Another excellent display by the 20-year old. Shielded his defence admirably, making several crucial tackles and interceptions and stopped Hull from developing their attacks.
Marc Albrighton – 7/10
Another typical energetic display on the left-hand side by Albrighton. Ran up and down all day and pumped in several dangerous crosses into the box.
Shinji Okazaki – 6/10
Industrious performance from the Japanese striker, full of hard-work for his team. But lacked the clinical edge when mattered the most.
Jamie Vardy – 7/10
Made a lovely run before cutting the ball back for Fuchs’ for the opener. Was Leicester’s spark in the attack. Looks like he’s growing back in confidence.
Substitutes
Demarai Gray – 6/10
Came on for Okazaki in the 70th minute. Had a go at goal, but his effort was stopped.
Islam Slimani – N/A
Replaced Mahrez with less than 10 minutes left to play. There wasn’t enough time left to make his mark.