Latest Leicester City headlines including Preston reaction and a change for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Dewsbury-Hall has shone so far this season
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Here are your latest Leicester City headlines on Friday, October 6.
Maresca’s sly nod
Yes, Leicester City probably should be where they are. Expenditure on player wages is still the best indicator of where a team should finish and while it won’t be known definitively until the financial results for this season are published in 18 months, City probably do have the biggest wage budget in the Championship.
But as Enzo Maresca has outlined, their achievement should not be downplayed. It is “not normal”, he said. On a statistical basis, he’s right. Given City have a better goal difference than Sheffield United when they got 27 points from 10 games in 2005, this is the best start to a second-tier campaign since Fulham in 2000. Teams are not pulling off nine wins from 10 every year.
So that was Maresca’s post-match message in the changing room. He told his players not to let anybody devalue their start by claiming it was inevitable City would be doing this well.
‘Threatening’ City change
Leicester City “turned the screw” on Preston in the second half thanks to a tactical tweak by Enzo Maresca, says North End defender Greg Cunningham. The Foxes scored three goals in the second half to beat Preston 3-0 at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday night. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall struck a double and Kelechi Iheanacho was also on target.
The victory lifted Maresca’s men back to the top of the Championship, two points above second-placed Ipswich Town. It was their ninth win in their opening 10 league matches as they continued their relentless assault on promotion back to the Premier League.
“It just shows that they are a top side and they were very clinical on the night,” said Cunningham. “I thought we restricted them to a limited amount of chances and were defensively solid.
Preston ‘harsh’ comment
Leicester City are a “different class” to the rest of the Championship, says Preston boss Ryan Lowe. And Lowe is adamant two-goal Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall should be playing in the Premier League.
Dewsbury-Hall inspired the Foxes to a 3-0 win over Preston at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday night as Enzo Maresca’s side moved back top of the Championship. The City midfielder opened the scoring on the hour mark and added their third on 90 minutes after Kelechi Iheanacho had made it 2-0. The Foxes are two points clear at the summit with nine wins from their opening 10 matches.
It is the perfect response to relegation from the Premier League last season as they look to make an immediate return to the top-flight. And while Lowe felt the scoreline was harsh on his side, he admits Leicester are the best team in the division, calling them “a Premier League team in the Championship” as he echoed identical comments from fellow rival bosses.
