Maresca: A Very Good Day
- Leicester City saw off Stoke City, winning 5-0 in the Sky Bet Championship
- The Foxes are 11 points clear at the top of the table following Saturday’s results
- Enzo Maresca looked back on a superb performance from his side
- Patson Daka and Jamie Vardy were both at the double at bet365 Stadium
Braces from Patson Daka and substitute Jamie Vardy, as well as Kasey McAteer’s goal, sent the table-topping Foxes on their way to a convincing 23rd success of the Sky Bet Championship season.
Reflecting on the Club’s biggest away win since defeating Southampton by nine goals in 2019, City’s Manager was full of praise for the way the players applied themselves and showed quality in the final third.
“For the performance of the players, I think the first half an hour was unbelievable,” Maresca commented. “We played very good, creating many chances and controlling the game. Then, in the last 10 minutes of the first half, we conceded two yellow cards that we need to avoid.
“And then, in the second half, we started again in the same way and it was a good day with a clean sheet so I’m very happy. We found many solutions and the reason why was that they played exactly in the way that we expected in the game.
“The problem is when you expect one thing and when the game starts, they are playing in a different way so you need to adjust, you need to adapt and that requires time.”
The result sees Leicester establish an 11-point gap to second-place Southampton, though the Saints have a game in hand, while the margin to third stands at 12 points. At times, the visiting Foxes looked to be coasting to victory in the Potteries, but Maresca assured that wasn’t the case.
“In this moment, it’s important to win games,” the 43-year-old stated. “I think we are in the last part of the season so we need to be consistent and then probably, game after game, we will see where we are and hopefully we can reach our target.
“It’s the way we play, it sometimes looks like second gear but we are just waiting for the moment and then we attack with the ball but we also defend when we have the ball.”
The Italian also provided an update on defender Jannik Vestergaard, who was replaced by Ben Nelson at the interval after picking up an injury in the first half.
“The only injury problem was Jannik, he felt something,” Maresca confirmed. “It’s a muscular problem. We’ll see. Then Kasey was [substituted] for the yellow card, to avoid the second and Stephy [Mavididi] the same. He was already booked so we changed.”