Leicester City secured their first 3 points of the 2023/24 season with an opening weekend win over local rivals Coventry City.
A different league, a new manager, a new system, new signings. It’s all change on Filbert Way. An important first 3 points are in the bag, but what did we learn along the way?
1. The beauty of no VAR in the Championship
The moment that late Dewsbury-Hall goal hit the net, King Power Stadium erupted. No goal checks, no stalled emotion, just the pure joy that every football fan should be able to enjoy. It has to be one of the best things about being in this league.
2. Harry Winks was a steal
Signed for £10 million this summer, Harry Winks was commanding in midfield, putting in a display that’s sure to see him become a Foxes favourite this season. His match stats backed it up with an impressive 94% passing accuracy.
3. Set pieces are still troubling
It’s perhaps no surprise that Leicester’s first goal conceded this season came from a corner. At times still looking very shaky at the back, against a better team they could have found themselves in much deeper trouble. Let’s not ignore that City did also manage to successfully defend 7 corners, but with some very nervous eyes around the ground. This also highlights the importance of Conor Coady and him having a speedy return from injury to keep command of the defence.
4. This is Enzo’s team
James Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Youri Tielemans may be the big name outgoings this summer, but Sunday’s game saw only 2 players remain in the starting line-up from our final day relegation match versus West Ham. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Wout Faes were the only 2 names on both starting team sheets. It’s clear that with the new names coming in (and hopefully more the come) as well as a shuffle of the squad behind the scenes, this is very much a new look Leicester City.
5. Should Vardy be starting?
Most Foxes fans would agree that we still need a few more key signings this summer. Will a striker be one of them? Vardy started the game as captain and whilst his legendary status can never be disputed, should he be starting and leading the forward line this season? With Enzo’s style of play he seemed fairly ineffective throughout the first half. Replaced by Iheanacho for the final 15 minutes, you saw the difference this made with far better linked up play moving forwards. If we manage to keep hold of Iheanacho this transfer window it would be great to see him given the opportunity to shine in this system.
6. Enzo’s got the passion
What a refreshing change from the hand claps of Brendan Rodgers. Passionate and involved, seeing Maresca’s reaction to our winning goal will have been a delight to the City fans in the stadium and watching on TV. Furthermore you could see that passion running through the team. Mavididi picking up the ball boy to celebrate KDH’s winner was joyous.
7. We’ll see a refreshed KDH this season
The season is one game old and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has already equalled his goal tally from last season. Maresca commented that he wanted to see KDH move forward more and that a player of his position and ability should be getting more goals and assists. He commented post-match, “At the beginning when I came in, I checked the numbers of the players and I told him he has better quality to be able to score more and make more assists. The only way to do it is to arrive more often in the box.” Let’s hope it’s a sign of things to come!
8. The goal music has gone
There have been times when the burst of goal music seemed horribly inappropriate (pulling one back against Blackburn in the Cup last season certainly springs to mind!), so it will have been a bonus to many match going fans that it seems to have been removed this season. Who needs goal music when you’ve got that roar from the fans? The atmosphere after the winning goal was electric. Let’s hope it wasn’t just a PA error.
9. Beer news
In an off the field observation, let’s talk beer. FootyBevs gave Chang the crown of “worst pint we’ve ever had in a ground”, and whilst the lager of choice remains the same, there’s a new IPA with Level Head Session IPA available throughout parts of the stadium this season (£6.25/pint). For cider drinkers you can now also enjoy Inch’s on draught as well (£6.50/pint). We can’t promise you’ll be able to get one at half time, mind, but if you crack the queue it’s a slightly improved result at the end.
10. Dare to be positive?
Yes, the defence looked rocky at times. Yes, Coventry wasted some good chances. But Leicester also had 65% possession in the match and had passing accuracy of 88%. The new signings on the pitch, Mads Hermansen, Callum Doyle, Stephy Mavididi, and Harry Winks all performed well and seem to fit in well to this new system. A huge positive when you think Mavididi has only been with the squad for a week. Plus alongside those new signings we saw Academy product, Kasey McAteer, make his league debut having been with the club since he was 8. Looking ahead to the next few league fixtures versus Huddersfield, Cardiff, Rotherham and Hull, there’s a great opportunity to get important early points in the bag. There’s still work to do and there are still new signings that need to be made, but the start of Maresca-ball looks bright.
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