LIAM BERRY REPORTS ONLEICETER CITY 2 -1 WOLVES AT THE KING POWER STADIUM
After taking the lead, Wolves suffered from a Foxes comeback and suffered a disappointed defeat against relegation rivals Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Julen Lopetegui kept the same XI that has beaten Brentford the previous weekend, with the only change to the matchday squad being Ruben Neves returning from suspension, replacing Joe Hodge on the bench.
In contrast, Dean Smith made four changes to his team that put up a late fight against Manchester City in their previous match. With Patson Daka, Kelechi Iheanacho, Tete and Boubakary Soumare being brought in for James Maddison, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Wilfred Ndidi and Harry Souttar.
KICK OFF AT THE KING POWER
Leicester started quickly, and carved out a chance early on with Jamie Vardy released in behind. Instead of shooting, he squared the ball to Tete who forced a crucial block by Toti Gomes to keep the hosts from an early opener.
Not long after, Wolves stepped on the gas and applied more and more pressure, with a half chance for Craig Dawson in the penalty area which he blasted over.
High pressure from Mario Lemina forced Youri Tielemans to give the ball away, and it fell straight to the path of Matheus Cunha who placed it in the corner to give the visitors the lead with 13 minutes on the clock.
For the next 20 odd minutes Wolves dominated a poor Leicester side, and seemed to be in cruise control, with chances from Cunha, Pablo Sarabia and Dawson again, blocked.
The midfield were top notch as they had been for the previous two games, passing the ball around with ease and dominating the engine room.
Then Leicester were handed a way back into the game as a counter attack led to a foul from Jose Sa on Vardy. After a lengthy delay for treatment to Vardy, Iheanacho calmly placed the ball past the Wolves shot-stopper.
This handed the momentum to Leicester to press for the lead, a curling effort from Iheanacho was saved, alongside the follow up from Daka.
Despite the Leicester pressure however, they weren’t able to take the lead as the first half came to a close.
HALFTIME CHANGES
One substitute for both teams arrived at half time, with Dewsbury-Hall coming on for Vardy, and Neves replacing Lemina.
At the start of the second period, Leicester were the team on top, with a few good moves and Dewsbury-Hall making a impact.
Lopetegui had been lining up several different substitutions on the touchline, then taking off Diego Costa and Sarabia to bring on Joao Moutinho and Hwang Hee-Chan, who had scored against Brentford exactly a week prior.
Joao Gomes with a driving run was brought down on the edge of the box, giving Neves a chance to add to his impressive collection. But his free kick, whilst looking dangerous, was just over the bar.
Despite this, Leicester kept control of the game and their goal came through their full backs, as Victor Kristiansen finished off a fine move with a low ball pulled back to Timothy Castagne, who despatched a free shot from the middle of the penalty area.
With something to protect, Leicester then put all their men behind the ball, which made it difficult for Wolves to break them down. Although they did continue to look dangerous on the break as they went in search of a clinching third goal.
Wolves didn’t give up, and produced another chance with a Neves free kick after Maximilian Kilman was brought down. The midfielder caught his free kick superbly but Daniel Iversen was equal to the task by acrobatically tipping it over the crossbar.
A VAR check for a handball from Wout Faes didn’t lead to anything and Leicester held on to take all three points and complete the league double over Wolves, who now haven’t won at the King Power Stadium for almost 16 years.
The defeat leaves six ‘finals’ left for Wolves. While there is a six point cushion to the relegation zone, they are still not out of danger and need to pick up a few more points to solidify their place in the division.
ARTICLE BY LIAM BERRY
I am a life long Wolves fan that is passionate for the club. I am a sixth form student who loves writing about things I love!
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