Maresca: We Were Brilliant
- Leicester City came away from Carrow Road with a 2-0 success over Norwich City
- Kelechi Iheanacho and Kasey McAteer were the Foxes’ goalscorers on Tuesday
- Enzo Maresca gave his assessment of the performance following full-time
- Leicester move back up to second in the table after a fourth away win
Kelechi Iheanacho’s penalty and a late second from Academy graduate Kasey McAteer wrapped up the points for Maresca’s men at Carrow Road – a fourth Sky Bet Championship win on the road following last Friday’s success over Southampton.
The Manager came away content with how his side kept the free-scoring hosts at bay, while also being patient to wait for the right moments to attack and ultimately punish David Wagner’s side at the other end of the pitch.
“I’m happy, very pleased,” the Italian commented in his post-match interview. “It was a tricky game. They score many goals and create many chances every game.
“I think, especially in the first half, we were brilliant in the way we were working. We avoided conceding chances and they didn’t create anything. We conceded some set pieces - corners, free-kicks, and we defended very well.
“In the second half, we dropped a little bit, but this is normal. The opponent plays and they want the same as us – to win the game. But I’m very happy with some of the moments on the ball. We were working very good against a team that was marking us man to man, which is never easy.”
Maresca made five changes to the side that defeated the Saints five days ago, but that did little to disrupt the Foxes’ flow, with one of those to come in, Iheanacho, netting for the first time in the league this term.
The 43-year-old explained: “The season is very long with many games and it’s impossible to think that we can have a long season with 12 or 13 players. We need a lot of them involved. Unfortunately, some of them are not involved at the moment. But for sure we are going to use them.
“The way we competed was unbelievable and the way we came here against a team that has scored 15 goals, they are the best attacking team and every game they score. On the ball, the team is trying to play in the way we want to play.”
Second in the standings, with six wins from a possible seven, one point separates Leicester and leaders Preston North End at this early stage of the campaign. The travelling Foxes faithful are heading back to the East Midlands with smiles on their faces and Maresca was delighted to be able to provide some midweek joy for the Blue Army.
“They (the fans) were unbelievable," he added. "We are very grateful for all of them because we had Southampton and tonight Norwich, especially during the week. Some of them have work and a job so it’s not easy.
“We are 100 per cent tonight. We are okay, we are improving and this is the most important thing.”