Leicester secured their first win of the season as they hammered Nottingham Forest to dump their local rivals on the bottom of the Premier League and pile the pressure on manager Steve Cooper.
James Maddison scored twice and created another for substitute Patson Daka, with Harvey Barnes curling home a superb effort as Brendan Rodgers’ side recorded their biggest home win since December.
For Forest, this first top flight East Midlands derby since 1999 was a night to forget.
Cooper’s side never recovered from conceding twice in as many minutes not long after striker Taiwo Awoniyi had struck a post when clean through on the home goal.
The Forest fans bellowed their support for Cooper as they sang songs of defiance with the game gone and their team slipping to a fifth straight defeat in a single season for the first time since January 2004.
However, after celebrating a long-awaited return to the Premier League after a 23-year absence, owner Evangelos Marinakis did not sanction the outlay on 23 summer signings in a belief Forest were about to go straight back down.
Cooper must hope his boss shows him more patience than former Huddersfield manager Carlos Corberan, who was sacked after 11 games at Marinakis’ Greek club Olympiakos earlier this month.
A ‘Top’ night for Leicester
The evening was significant enough for Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha to fly in from Thailand to watch the team his family bankrolled to their memorable Premier League title in 2016 but cut spending on this summer, something he described as a “difficult short-term decision”.
In his programme notes he spoke of how a positive result could “galvanise” the club but as the game started, he had the expression of a man who could be a couple of hours away from having to make a very big decision.
As it turned out, by half-time the man affectionately known as Khun Top by Foxes fans was high-fiving supporters, who were ecstatic at how the evening was turning out.
Leicester’s opening goal required a couple of bits of fortune through Jesse Lingard’s mis-control and Scott McKenna’s deflection but the efforts that followed were moments of unquestioned quality, with Daka’s flick from Maddison’s cross to round off the scoring 17 minutes from time particularly impressive.
Rodgers certainly enjoyed them as he hugged his coaching staff, the joy at gaining that precious win obvious.
Player of the match
MaddisonJames Maddison
Leicester City
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Squad number10Player nameMaddisonAverage rating
8.59
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Squad number20Player nameDakaAverage rating
7.50
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Squad number7Player nameBarnes
Average rating7.39
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Squad number22Player nameDewsbury-Hall
Average rating7.09
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Squad number3Player nameFaes
Average rating6.91
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Squad number8Player nameTielemans
Average rating6.86
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Squad number42Player nameSoumaré
Average rating6.80
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Squad number2Player nameJustin
Average rating6.54
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Squad number27Player nameCastagne
Average rating6.51
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Squad number6Player nameEvans
Average rating6.47
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Squad number26Player namePraet
Average rating6.46
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Squad number25Player nameNdidi
Average rating6.44
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Squad number1Player nameWard
Average rating6.40
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Squad number9Player nameVardy
Average rating6.37
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Squad number11Player nameAlbrighton
Average rating6.32
Nottingham Forest
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Squad number20Player nameJohnson
Average rating4.70
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Squad number10Player nameGibbs-White
Average rating4.32
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Squad number1Player nameHenderson
Average rating4.14
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Squad number24Player nameAurier
Average rating3.98
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Squad number14Player nameO’Brien
Average rating3.94
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Squad number26Player nameMcKenna
Average rating3.93
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Squad number5Player nameMangala
Average rating3.93
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Squad number7Player nameN Williams
Average rating3.90
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Squad number9Player nameAwoniyi
Average rating3.87
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Squad number22Player nameYates
Average rating3.78
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Squad number3Player nameS Cook
Average rating3.74
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Squad number25Player nameDennis
Average rating3.74
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Squad number32Player nameRenan Lodi
Average rating3.72
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Squad number21Player nameKouyaté
Average rating3.45
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Squad number23Player nameFreuler
Average rating3.43
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Squad number11Player nameLingard
Average rating3.08
Line-ups
Leicester
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 1Ward
- 27Castagne
- 6Evans
- 3Faes
- 2Justin
- 25NdidiSubstituted forSoumaréat 45′minutesBooked at 71mins
- 10MaddisonBooked at 83minsSubstituted forAlbrightonat 85′minutes
- 8TielemansSubstituted forPraetat 80′minutes
- 22Dewsbury-Hall
- 7Barnes
- 9VardySubstituted forDakaat 62′minutes
Substitutes
- 11Albrighton
- 14Iheanacho
- 17Pérez
- 18Amartey
- 20Daka
- 26Praet
- 31Iversen
- 33Thomas
- 42Soumaré
Nottm Forest
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Henderson
- 7N WilliamsBooked at 18minsSubstituted forAurierat 45′minutes
- 3S CookBooked at 90mins
- 26McKenna
- 32Lodi dos Santos
- 21KouyatéBooked at 33minsSubstituted forFreulerat 45′minutes
- 14O’BrienSubstituted forYatesat 45′minutes
- 20Johnson
- 10Gibbs-White
- 11LingardBooked at 64minsSubstituted forMangalaat 69′minutes
- 9AwoniyiSubstituted forDennisat 62′minutes
Substitutes
- 4Worrall
- 5Mangala
- 13Hennessey
- 16Surridge
- 22Yates
- 23Freuler
- 24Aurier
- 25Dennis
- 30Boly
- Referee:
- Robert Jones
- Attendance:
- 32,202
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Leicester City 4, Nottingham Forest 0.
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Second Half ends, Leicester City 4, Nottingham Forest 0.
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Foul by Harvey Barnes (Leicester City).
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Emmanuel Dennis (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Harvey Barnes (Leicester City).
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Sèrge Aurier (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Steve Cook (Nottingham Forest) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Boubakary Soumaré (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Steve Cook (Nottingham Forest).
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Marc Albrighton (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Renan Lodi (Nottingham Forest).
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Attempt saved. Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Emmanuel Dennis with a cross.
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Attempt missed. Emmanuel Dennis (Nottingham Forest) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Sèrge Aurier with a cross.
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Substitution, Leicester City. Marc Albrighton replaces James Maddison.
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James Maddison (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by James Maddison (Leicester City).
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Renan Lodi (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by James Maddison (Leicester City).
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Orel Mangala (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Patson Daka (Leicester City).
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