Leeds United 1-4 Leicester City
Leeds United suffered their first significant defeat of the Premier League season as they lost 1-4 to Leicester City at Elland Road.
The Whites had only lost their first two games by a single goal, but they found themselves in an early two-goal hole against the formidable Foxes. And despite a spirited second-half fightback, Leeds conceded two more goals late as Leicester capped off another impressive away win.
The Foxes, who have won four games out of four away from home, are now up to second in the table while Leeds drop down to the bottom half.
Highlights of the game
Leeds created the first big chance of the game after just two minutes. Jack Harrison headed Helder Costa’s cross toward Patrick Bamford in the six-yard box, but the in-form striker — fresh off his amazing hat-trick against Aston Villa — could only send his close-range header straight at Kasper Schmeichel.
Bamford would be left to rue that miss even more as Leicester took the lead just seconds later. Centre-back Robin Koch made a crucial error as his attempted back-pass was intercepted by Jamie Vardy, who rounded Illan Meslier and unselfishly set up Harvey Barnes for the easy tap-in.
The two Leicester forwards nearly combined again for another goal five minutes later. Vardy sent Barnes through on goal, but the young Fox took one touch too many, which allowed Meslier to come out and smother the ball to safety.
Vardy and Barnes created one more chance on 10 minutes, with Barnes’ curling shot from the edge of the box forcing Meslier to make a smart save.
Leicester’s pressure would eventually pay off as they doubled their advantage on 21 minutes. Meslier made a great save to stop Vardy’s diving header, but he could do nothing about Youri Tielemans, who smashed the ball home off the rebound.
Leeds finally got another sniff of goal seven minutes from half-time. The chance again fell to Bamford, but his poor first touch allowed Schmeichel to come out and smother the ball.
However, the home side came out for the second half strong and they pulled a goal back just three minutes after the break. Stuart Dallas’ dangerous cross into the box crept all the way into the back of the net without a touch from anyone else.
Pablo Hernandez then came so close to equalising when his effort from the edge of the box smashed into the frame of the goal.
But Leeds’ hopes of salvaging at least a point from the match were dashed by Vardy, who scored Leicester’s third 15 minutes from time after excellent passes from substitutes James Maddison and Cengiz Under.
Vardy then had a penalty shout on 83 minutes when Meslier brought him down, but the referee decided not to give it.
However, the Foxes did eventually get their penalty when Mateusz Klich fouled James Maddison right at the edge of the penalty area. After the referee went to the touchline monitor and confirmed it was inside the box, Tielemans stepped up to score his second goal with a well-taken penalty, sealing another impressive away win for Leicester.
Key statistics
Leicester were the epitome of efficiency at Elland Road. They were narrowly outshot, 11-10, but eight out of their 10 shots were on target. Vardy and Barnes did most of the damage for the Foxes as they combined for seven total shots, five of which were on target.
Vardy’s Leeds counterpart Patrick Bamford also had four shots, the fourth time he’s had at least four in seven games this season. He now has 27 shots on the season, third in the league behind Mohamed Salah (32) and Harry Kane (31).
Leicester City have now made their joint best-ever start to a top-flight campaign through seven games. Their 15-point tally matches their great start in the 2000-01 season.
The Foxes have also won their first four away games for the first time in the club’s history. Their recent Premier League 2020 results outside the King Power have been amazing. Three of those four wins have been by a three-goal margin; they also won 0-3 at West Brom and 2-5 at Manchester City.
Meanwhile, Leeds have lost back-to-back home league games for the first time under Marcelo Bielsa. They last lost consecutive league games at Elland Road in March 2018 under Paul Heckingbottom.
What’s next?
After three away matches in a row, Leicester will now have back-to-back home games coming up, first against Braga in the Europa League, then against Wolves this weekend.
Meanwhile, Leeds will look to bounce back from their heavy home defeat away at Crystal Palace. The SBOTOP Premier League 2020 betting odds are likely to favour Leeds against the Eagles, who have won just one of their last five games (three losses, one draw).
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