Kicking the reboot off with a bang!

No ring rust for the fiery Foxes! Match report by Tom Shapland

38 days since the Foxes’ last competitive outing and it was League 1’s MK Dons who they’d be taking on. MK Dons currently sit in the relegation zone of England’s third division of football and in unusual circumstances, as midfielder Bradley Johnson was on the touchline for them as their caretaker manager, Dean Lewington (player/manager) underwent surgery earlier in the day. Rodgers’ men overcame the chaos in the opposition camp and managed a comfortable victory, seeing the Foxes through to the Quarter Finals of the EFL cup.

Rodgers, without his star man Maddison, showed that he can utilise his whole squad and still get the job done. Perez slid in Dewsbury-Hall’s central position and Dennis Praet played off the right for Maddison, who is expected back for Boxing Day.

Leicester started the game strongly with the first chance coming in the fourth minute. A Castagne cut back cross was skied by Perez, a poor finish but a promising start from the Foxes. It was in the 18^th minute when City broke the deadlock. Barnes beat the offside trap and played in Vardy who improvised with a backheel shot which was saved, with the rebound struck down the middle by Tielemans to grab his fourth goal in all competitions this season. It may not have been his best strike this season, but a man in fine form put the Foxes 1-0 up.

In the 29^th minute, Perez doubled the lead! An absolutely filthy first touch after a heaving ball by Thomas, which sent the defender and gave the Spaniard time to shoot, beating the keeper at his near post. 2-0 Leicester.

Who else but Jamie Vardy. The veteran striker sealed the victory in the 50^th minute with a towering header. A magnificent jump, beating all of MK Dons defenders in the box put Leicester 3-0 up in the 50^th minute, sealing a place in the quarterfinals.

A nice touch from Rodgers who gave chances to 21-year-old McAteer who had impressed in the u-21’s as well as 17-year-old Will Alves who made only his second appearance for City, as they helped see out another comfortable win for Leicester. Full time at Stadium MK, 3-0 Leicester.

Absolutely no rust shown from Rodgers’ men as they stroll on through to the quarters of the EFL Cup, putting them in fine stead for the return of the Premier League, where they should have star man James Maddison to add to the mix as well.

Chris Davies conducted the post-match reaction in place of Rodgers, Davies said: “We go into all the cup competitions, as we did with the FA cup a couple of years ago, thinking that we’ve got a chance if we can perform well on each occasion. This is a competition we are excited about.”

When asked about Maddison, he said: “He’s fine. It’s just a question of getting him up to speed, He came back a little later than the other guys, so he wasn’t quite up to speed for starting.”

Leicester will host Newcastle on Monday 26^th December as they make their long-awaited return to the Premier League after a thrilling World Cup. As for the EFL cup, the Quarter Final draws will conduct on Thursday 22^nd December after Manchester City take on Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.