Musa At The Double In January
Ahmed Musa netted a brace to help the Foxes see off Everton at Goodison Park, before Wes Morgan headed in late on to force a replay against Derby County
Gameday 27:
Middlesbrough 0 Leicester City 0
Monday 2 January, 2017
Premier League
Attendance: 32,437
Match round-up:
Leicester City began 2017 by registering their third away point of the season after a goalless draw with Middlesbrough at a chilly Riverside Stadium on Monday afternoon.
The Foxes looked dangerous from the off as Christian Fuchs had two opportunities on goal either side of a Riyad Mahrez free kick.
Chances for Boro followed, with Marten De Roon, Alvaro Negredo and George Friend all going close, while headers from Leonardo Ulloa and Andy King were saved by Brad Guzan.
But both defences were on top in what proved to be a closely-fought encounter in Middlesbrough, as Leicester recorded their second-consecutive clean sheet in the league.
Claudio Ranieri’s reaction:
“The performance was good. [We showed] Good spirit and we got one point. A clean sheet too – our second clean sheet in a row and it was good for us.
“Of course Middlesbrough pushed a lot but they were dangerous for just a few crosses and we were so solid. I’m very, very pleased with all the great spirit that we showed.
“I want to score a goal, of course but this season we conceded so many goals and we must improve this.
“For this reason we go back, solid and strong with good personality. We won a lot of aerial battles. In the first match [in November] they won a lot of second balls but today we won lots of tackles.”
League position: 15
Gameday 28:
Everton 1 Leicester City 2
Saturday 7 January, 2017
Goals: Lukaku 63; Musa 66, 70
Emirates FA Cup
Attendance: 35,493
Match round-up:
A brace from Ahmed Musa helped Leicester City come from behind to beat Everton 2-1 in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup at Goodison Park.
Following a goalless first period, it was the hosts who struck first through Romelu Lukaku, as the Belgium international converted a low cross from Gerard Deulofeu.
Just seven minutes later, City were in front. First, Musa, who replaced Leonardo Ulloa in the opening 45 minutes, forced the ball over the line at the second attempt, before converting a superb one-two with Danny Drinkwater.
That was enough for the Foxes to advance to the fourth round and in turn extend their unbeaten run to three games in all competitions.
Claudio Ranieri’s reaction:
“I’m very pleased with our performance. We wanted to win and we wanted to go through in the FA Cup, which is an important competition.
“Then [we wanted to go through] even more because we lost to Everton at home, so we wanted revenge.
“It was a good match because of course at the beginning Everton pushed a lot and wanted to score a goal, but I’m very pleased with our performance before and after the goal.
“When we conceded a goal, everybody wanted to react immediately. After there were chances for them and us, but it was a very good performance.”
Gameday 29:
Leicester City 0 Chelsea 3
Saturday 14 January, 2017
Goals: Alonso 6, 52, Pedro 71
Premier League
Attendance: 32,066
Match round-up:
Leicester City were defeated 3-0 by Premier League leaders Chelsea at King Power Stadium on Saturday evening.
Marcos Alonso handed Antonio Conte’s men the lead with just six minutes gone after tucking in from close range.
The Chelsea left back had his second of the game shortly after the interval, as his deflected low drive found its way into the back of the net.
Ruthless going forward, the London outfit sealed all three points with just under 20 minutes to play, with Pedro this time converting the loose ball with a header from inside the box.
Claudio Ranieri’s reaction:
“I’m happy with the performance – we tried to do our best.
“Of course, I’m not happy that we conceded a goal at the beginning of the first half and the beginning of the second half, but if you take out those two goals, the match was good for us.
“We closed the space, we mirrored Chelsea with a 3-5-2 and it was good.
“We were expecting something special from Hazard, Pedro or Willian and maybe we didn’t expect Alonso to score the goals. But that’s football when you play against big champions.”
League positon: 15
Gameday 30:
Southampton 3 Leicester City 0
Sunday 22 January, 2017
Goals: Ward-Prowse 26, Rodriguez 39, Tadic pen 85
Premier League
Attendance: 30,548
Match round-up:
Leicester City will continue their search of a Premier League win on the road this season after being beaten 3-0 by Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium.
The hosts found themselves 2-0 up in the first half following some smart finishing from James Ward-Prowse and Jay Rodriguez.
While Demarai Gray had several attempts from the wing and proved to be City’s main source of creativity, the wideman couldn’t breach the Saints' back line.
Dusan Tadic then extended his side's lead from the spot with five minutes to play, rounding off the scoring and in turn halting any form of Foxes comeback.
Claudio Ranieri’s reaction:
“I want to say that the two last matches (Chelsea and Southampton) were my mistake. I changed the shape to help the team, but the players didn’t recognise my ideas.
“We wanted to win and we wanted to do something good. For the players, it was important for them to keep going and improve.
“I wanted to close their movement because they wanted to keep possession of the ball. With the diamond, we made very good things but after we conceded two goals and I preferred to go back to the shape (4-4-2) that they under stood better.
“Often we come back from 2-0 down and also we had a chance with the skipper (Wes Morgan), but today everything was wrong.”
League position: 15
Gameday 31:
Derby County 2 Leicester City 2
Friday 27 January, 2017
Goals: Bent 21, Bryson 40; Bent o.g. 8, Morgan 87
Emirates FA Cup
Attendance: 25,079
Match round-up:
A late header from skipper Wes Morgan saw Leicester City draw 2-2 with Derby County at Pride Park on Friday, in turn forcing an Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round replay at King Power Stadium.
It took just eight minutes for City to open the scoring, as Robert Huth’s header was fortuitously turned into the net by Derby striker Darren Bent.
But two goals in 19 first-half minutes handed Steve McClaren’s men the lead heading into the break – Bent and Craig Bryson on target.
City continued to battle and deservedly drew level with three minutes to play through captain Morgan, who nodded home an equaliser that had certainly been coming.
Claudio Ranieri’s reaction:
“I’m very happy because we tried in every situation to score a goal, but it was very strange. We created three or four chances to equalise and also win the match. It was unbelievable what happened.
“I was always positive because when I see players play together with the right mentality, I am very positive. We started very well, but after, we lost our calm and they scored twice. They shot twice and scored twice.
“It’s unbelievable, but it’s important that we had a great reaction and I am happy with our fans because they supported us the whole game. Of course I want to say thank you to them.
“We closed Derby in their half and tried to find the solution. We created two or three chances to equalise. It wasn’t, but I’m very happy. Our goal is the league, but when we play, we try to win every match.”
Gameday 32:
Burnley 1 Leicester City 0
Tuesday 31 January, 2017
Goal: Vokes 87
Premier League
Attendance: 19,202
Match round-up:
Leicester City were dealt a cruel blow late on at Turf Moor as Sam Vokes bundled a loose ball over the line to secure a 1-0 victory for Burnley on Tuesday evening.
Despite defending superbly in both halves, dealing with much of what the Clarets had to throw at them, City were undone with just three minutes to play.
A deep ball into the box struck Vokes’ arm before the substitute striker stabbed home to snatch it for the hosts.
Leicester, who had earlier gone close through Jamie Vardy, Wes Morgan and Riyad Mahrez, peppered the Burnley box with deliveries in injury time, but could not find a deserved equaliser in Lancashire.
Claudio Ranieri’s reaction:
“I am disappointed to lose so late. It was very hard to lose with three minutes to go.
“In this moment it seems everything is against us. We have to react, stay together and fight.
“We have to react as soon as possible because we can lose or we can win. We gave it everything and, for the performance, I am glad but very disappointed with the result.
“We created chances, we tried to do our best and were very dangerous on the counter attack. Maybe we missed the last pass but that’s it."
League position: 16
Top scorer: Ahmed Musa: two goals
High point: The Foxes advanced to the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round after coming from behind to beat Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park.
Low point: Three straight defeats to Chelsea, Southampton and Burnley saw the 2015/16 Premier League champions drop to 16th in the table.