Abdul Fatawu of Leicester City celebrates scoring
Abdul Fatawu netted again as Leicester City battled past potential promotion rivals Birmingham to claim three points at the King Power Stadium.
It was far from a vintage performance by City, but as at Charlton, they had the quality to see off their opponents and make it back-to-back wins.
The matchwinner at The Valley was back on the scoresheet, Fatawu striking early after City capitalised on Birmingham uncertainty.
City came into the game having not scored a single first-half goal in any of their first four competitive fixtures. But here, they were ahead inside eight minutes.
Oliver Skipp’s pass inside caused confusion in the Birmingham ranks, with Ethan Laird and Paik Seung-ho leaving the ball for each other.
Page picked it up and while his pass to Fatawu forced the winger back inside, and not into space, it’s where the Ghanaian thrives. He shuffled in a couple of steps and then fired past Ryan Allsop.
City were playing with control and Page’s athleticism got him into the box to receive Jordan Ayew’s pass, but the teenager could not quite bring it under control.
But as the half wore on, Birmingham grew in confidence and started to dominate proceedings, penning City into their own half.
While Marti Cifuentes’ men struggled to break forward and escape the pressure, they ensured Birmingham’s possession and territory came to nothing, defending their box well and not giving up a single good chance.
There was a burst of activity just after the break. For City, Ayew’s sharp pressing nearly saw him pinch the ball off the toe of Allsop, the ball just bouncing favourably for the Birmingham keeper.
At the other end, Bright Osayi-Samuel rose high and headed over, and then Kyogo Furuhashi’s sliced volley from a half-cleared corner skimmed the roof of the net.
Again the game went quiet before Birmingham came on strong in the final 15 minutes. As they piled on the pressure, Jakub Stolarczyk needed to position himself well to block out Laird’s close-range shot.
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But with Birmingham pushing forward, there was always going to be space to exploit. With a few minutes to go, City finally did.
Jeremy Monga played a one-two with Patson Daka and then delivered a beauty of a cross, with Ricardo charging in late to volley past Allsop and seal the victory.
The full-back may have been lucky to stay on the pitch for a late tackle on Kyogo Furuhashi earlier in the half, but without VAR, he stayed on and delivered a big moment for City. Here’s how we scored the players.
Jakub Stolarczyk: With his hands, he had very little to do, making one good low save from Laird late on. With his feet, he kicked out of play a few times, and unnecessarily put Skipp in trouble. 6
Hamza Choudhury: Another strong display from the City skipper, and one that will make it hard for Ricardo to get back into the team for now, despite the sub’s goal. Choudhury blocked out Koumas’ dribbles, kept Gray quiet, put in a few crunching tackles and passed solidly. 7
Caleb Okoli: His possession play was improved, but he did lump it forward aimlessly to avoid passes under pressure at times. He didn’t have as much defending to do as at Charlton either. 5
Jannik Vestergaard: Solid again from the big Dane. He read play well and placed himself in the right spots to clear crosses and intercept attacks, passing with his usual confidence too, floating one brilliant ball over the top to Daka. 7
Luke Thomas: He really struggled to keep Osayi-Samuel quiet early on, the Birmingham full-back breezing past him. He passed it backwards too often as well. However, late on, when he had to make important clearances, he was in the right place to do so. 5
Boubakary Soumare: He started really well, with good, quick passing to the right man, with alert tracking and with protection for the defence. He had a dip in the middle of the game, but found his feet again late on. 6
Oliver Skipp: Better. He got himself much more involved in the game, and his passing was more accurate, Skipp spreading play well in the first half. Defensively, he put in a few decent tackles. 6
Louis Page: He picked up the loose ball for the goal and while his pass to Fatawu was not perfect, it was good enough to grab him an assist. His athleticism looks a big asset and he used that well with his off-the-ball running and pressing, but his touch let him down a few too many times. 5
Abdul Fatawu: He took his goal really well to make a mockery of Nathan Jones’ one-in-a-million comment from last week, but he didn’t do much else after that bar a couple of nice dribbles inside early in the second half. 6
Jordan Ayew: He produced one excellent turn in the first half and in general he held the ball up well. He pressed with urgency too. There were still a few moments where he frustrated by not playing a pass soon enough. 6
Stephy Mavididi: He was a bit sloppy on the ball when it came his way, but that happened very rarely, with City seeming to ignore their left side. He pressed well, but it was a far quieter game than he’d have liked. 5
Patson Daka: He ran really hard and made life uncomfortable for Birmingham on the ball at times. But in possession, he didn’t have much of an impact, albeit he did play the one-two with Monga before the second goal. 5
Ricardo Pereira: There were rusty moments, but also signs of his class. The tackle on Kyogo could have seen red if VAR was in play, but he also showed composure in possession and scored a goal with a run and finish that few others in the squad would do. 6
Jeremy Monga: He hardly saw the ball until he delivered a moment of terrific ability. The one-two with Daka to create space and the cross to Ricardo were spot on. 6
Wout Faes: Brought on to see out the win, he was a little wobbly in places, giving away a corner in one moment where should have seen the ball out for a goal kick. 5
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