- Leicester City recorded a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace at King Power Stadium on Sunday
- Ademola Lookman and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall netted first-half goals
- The success lifted the Foxes up to ninth in the Premier League
- City showed different qualities to claim the three points, says Lookman
First-half goals from Lookman and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall set the Foxes on their way at King Power Stadium and although Wilfried Zaha halved their advantage after the hour mark, Brendan Rodgers’ men held on for the win.
Despite making seven changes to the side that faced PSV Eindhoven three days earlier, another three Premier League points were secured and Lookman, one of the players to come into the XI, believes the group showed their collective strength against the Eagles.
“It was a very strong performance against a strong opposition,” the 24-year-old told LCFC TV during his post-match interview. “From us, the unit, togetherness, all the qualities were there today. I think we battled hard, especially in the first half, and I feel like we dominated a lot more.
“But in the second half, coming out, they put the pressure on us and obviously they got the penalty, but I think after that we showed resilience and we stayed together, and we won the game. That’s the most important thing.”
The Nigeria international opened the scoring six minutes before the break, adding a fifth Premier League goal to his 2021/22 tally. Assisted by Dewsbury-Hall, the Academy graduate then netted his first top-flight goal on the stroke of half-time and Lookman was full of praise for his team-mates’ performance.
“I knew he was going to pass the ball inside,” the forward explained. “So, I just made a run and took it well. I think the one where Patson [Daka] passed it to me, and I could score there and make it 3-0 and then obviously we see the game out. It’s just those fine details.
“Dewsbury-Hall is an amazing player. His energy, his tenacity is what we need and he’s very valuable to the squad, to us, and also not just as a player, but as a person as well. He’s a cool guy and I get along with him very well.”
Three successive home league victories have moved City up to ninth in the league standings, three points ahead of Patrick Vieira’s side with two games in hand, while home form across all competitions has been impressive of late - unbeaten in eight games on Filbert Way.
The RB Leipzig loanee attributed the recent run to the backing from the Blue Army in helping see out games.
He continued: “Especially in the second half, towards the end where they had more possession of the ball, you could hear the fans a lot more getting behind the team.
“But also throughout the first half as well, in terms of when we were keeping possession as well and we had them pinned back. We heard the fans a lot and that gave us a lot of energy. We can only say thank you.”