Leicester Up To Seventh After Watford Win
Claude Puel made eight changes to the side that beat Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, while new signing Fousseni Diabaté was named as a substitute.
While the Foxes back line had to deal with a number of deliveries into the box in the early stages, Puel’s men had the best opportunity of the opening period as Jamie Vardy forced a good stop out of Orestis Karnezis
Only a fine challenge from Hornets attacker Richarlison prevented Wilfred Ndidi from scoring his first goal of the season on eight minutes, while Kasper Schmeichel was on hand at the other end to deny Abdoulaye Doucouré.
Troy Deeney had a goal disallowed just after the half-hour mark and only four minutes later, the Foxes were awarded a penalty after former Fox Molla Wagué brought down Vardy in the penalty box.
The England international made no mistakes from the spot, as he sent Karnezis the wrong way to score his 10th Premier League goal of the season.
After the break, Shinji Okazaki had a shot saved and Ndidi headed off target from a Riyad Mahrez corner, while Deeney dragged wide and Schmeichel denied Andre Gray as Watford went in search of an equaliser.
Another Deeney effort followed, but the Hornets could not find a way past Schmeichel and his resilient defence, as Mahrez rounded off the scoring in injury time with a brilliant solo goal.
Substitute Adrien Silva offloaded the ball to the Algerian, who glided past Christian Kabasele before finding the bottom corner from a tight angle.
Major moment
City were under a great deal of pressure late on as Watford attempted to claim a Premier League point from the encounter.
But they managed to repel much of the opposition’s attacking play and when Riyad Mahrez struck in injury time, the points were sealed.
Who impressed?
Faced with the task of keeping physical frontman Troy Deeney quiet, Harry Maguire had his hands full on Saturday afternoon but performed brilliantly once again in Leicester blue.
Alongside heading away numerous deliveries in either half, the centre half tracked back to put in a superb last-ditch tackle to block Andre Gray’s effort with 15 minutes to play.
The England international has now helped City to three consecutive clean sheets in England’s top flight.
Where do we stand?
The Foxes now sit seventh in the Premier League table after Burnley were beaten 1-0 by Manchester United at Turf Moor.
Coming up…
Next up is an Emirates FA Cup trip to the ABAX Stadium, where Leicester City face Peterborough United in the fourth round on Saturday 27 January (12:30pm kick-off).