A Good Day At The Office For Maddison

- Leicester City beat Brentford 2-1 in the Premier League on Sunday
- James Maddison scored a free-kick after Timothy Castagne’s opener
- He felt the Foxes deserved the points after a dominant first-half display
- Brendan Rodgers’ side have recorded four successive wins on Filbert Way

A fourth successive victory on Filbert Way and sixth game unbeaten was achieved via stunning first-half goals from Timothy Castagne and Maddison, before Yoane Wissa pulled one back for the Bees late on.

But it was the Foxes who claimed the points to move back into the top half of the Premier League table, less than 72 hours after booking their spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League Quarter-Finals following an aggregate triumph against Rennes.

“It’s a good day,” City’s No.10 reflected to LCFC TV post-match. “Three points was what we needed. It was a quick turnaround from being in France on Thursday night, so it was just about getting the win. I thought we played well first half. We played some nice stuff on the side, scored two very good goals.

“Second half, I thought we could have been a bit more incisive and show a bit more of that killer instinct to really see the game out, because I think there was goals there for the taking against them. We didn’t manage to do that, had to grind it out at the end like we’ve had to do a few times in recent weeks, but three points and we move on.

“I always felt we were in control of the game, to be honest. I never felt under pressure, apart from obviously the last five minutes, because they scored a nice strike from the edge of the box, to be fair, right in the corner, I was right behind it.

“And then you know with the way they play, with set pieces, long throws, it’s just going to be bombardment on your box, and you’ve just got to defend that, you’ve got to stand up to it.

“But we didn’t need to put ourselves in that position. We probably could have killed the game off earlier and had a bit more of a cushion, which is something that we’ll look to improve on in games like that in the future. But we saw it out well and showed that resilience.”

Gallery 20 Mar 2022

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An inch-perfect free-kick from the midfielder doubled Leicester’s lead just after the half-hour mark, sending in another Goal of the Month contender and his 13th strike of the campaign. Eight of those have come in the Premier League, including the winner in the reverse fixture at Brentford.

“It was a good range for me,” the England international explained. “It’s the perfect distance out because you’ve got just enough time to get it up and over a big wall and with pace. When you’re stood there and you look at the wall, they don’t put the strikers in there, the big centre halves are! I picked my spot, hit it perfectly and it went in the top corner, so I’m happy with that.

“I can never pick a corner until the set-up is there. I have to go on the ‘keeper because he might move into a different position, he might stand more centrally. I think he (David Raya) was covering his side and had a big wall to block that side. It was still quite far out so he could maybe get across, but I just hit it with too much pace I felt and it was a really nice strike.

“You can’t just be a one trick pony, because ‘keepers will start guessing. You need to be able to vary the side you go. If they’re going to go in the top corner every time, I’ll just keep doing that, but it’s not always how it works out.”

Belgium full-back Castagne marked his reintroduction into the starting XI with a sensational goal of his own and Maddison was pleased to see him back on the pitch alongside another returning defender, Jonny Evans.

The 25-year-old added: “Tim, he brings us that energy, that fitness, that running, that power. It’s something you probably don’t associate with Tim because Castagne’s game isn’t scoring worldies into the top corner but wow, what a strike that was. I’ll let him have that one!

“It was a brilliant strike, he deserves it, I’m so happy for him, really happy to see him back, because he’s been out injured with a double-injury almost. He’s a top player.

“Senior players, Jonny Evans, especially, he’s such a leader and part of the group. Getting 30 minutes back in and among it, it's nice to see faces back.”