- Leicester extended their unbeaten run to ten games after a glut of goals at home
- Huddersfield set another club record with another defeat on New Year’s Day
- Four points from December 15 in December saw Arsenal catch up. They’re not out of the woods yet, but where are they going this season? It all starts
There was no sign of a New Year’s Eve hangover for Enzo Maresca’s rampant Leicester side as they powered past bottom half strugglers Huddersfield 4-1 at the King Power Stadium on Monday afternoon.
After a successful December marred only by a Boxing Day draw against promotion challenger Ipswich, the Foxes started 2024 on the right foot with a win that extended their unbeaten run to 10 games – a record unmatched since their Premier League season 2015/16. .
Leicester are now ten points clear at the top of the Championship following Ipswich’s draw against Stoke City, and will undoubtedly have their record points tally of 106 firmly in their sights after goals from Ricardo Pereira, Stephy Mavididi and debutant Tom Cannon.
Both sides got off to a slightly shaky start after a full festive fixture list, and it was a Leicester mistake that gave the visitors their first half-chance inside the opening ten minutes, thanks to a misplaced ball from Wout Faes.
Faes in particular looked frayed at times; his mistake was just the first of a handful of small favors that Huddersfield sent his way. But when the ball finally fell to Ben Wiles on the edge of the penalty area, the midfielder could only send his effort miles over Mads Hermansen’s crossbar.
Tom Cannon scored twice on his full debut to help Leicester move ten points ahead of Ipswich
Ricardo Pereira was also on the scoresheet as Enzo Maresca’s men remained unbeaten for a tenth game
Your browser does not support iframes.
The Terriers would have little chance of breaking and worrying the surging home side, who clung to possession for large parts of the first half. Abdul Fatawu, spared from AFCON action with Ghana in a huge boon for Maresca, kept up the pressure from the right, as did Mavididi on the left, with bright sparks in a largely lackluster half.
Already hampered by a string of injuries, Jaheim Headley was forced off the field with an ankle injury just after the half-hour mark to further expand Darren Moore’s wafer-thin ranks. And things would quickly go from bad to worse.
However, after breathing the Terrier’s neck for much of the match, it seemed inevitable for the hosts to break the deadlock. Cannon was nervous as he collected Ricardo’s poked ball from the edge of the penalty area, catching the ball on the bounce and hitting it cleanly to utterly stump a leaping Lee Nicholls and set the King Power ablaze.
Now Leicester smelled blood and wanted to double the lead before half time. Fatawu had a confident kick from the right side of the box for Nicholls to pounce on, and Cesare Casadei had a shot at the Huddersfield goal well stopped.
The peace did not cause any hindrance. The Foxes stormed out of the gate to get their second less than two minutes after play resumed, when returning captain Ricardo added to his afternoon score with a header that was fired past Nicholls via an elegant high ball from Justin James.
The tries kept coming, with Harry Winks looking particularly unlucky as he pushed an excellent chance past the post at the top of the box, and Cannon was forced to cut short his celebrations when his would-be second was immediately disallowed for offside. But last summer’s signing would eventually get his brace, sealing his second in the 61st minute after collecting a chipped forward ball and bullying it past Tom Lees to beat Nicholls one-on-one.
Stephy Mavididi quashed any hopes of a Terriers comeback with a sweetly struck free-kick
Huddersfield were left dejected after suffering their 11th successive defeat on New Year’s Day
Your browser does not support iframes.
With the game under control, Leicester promptly eliminated, giving Huddersfield the opportunity to reduce the deficit. Captain Michal Helik collected the muddled remains of a corner, pushed the ball past Hermansen and tried to spark the excitement of a fightback. Instead, a sweetly taken free-kick from Mavididi, who scored the winner in the teams’ previous meeting this season, would put Leicester out of sight in the 77th minute.
Monday’s result would see the 21st-placed club set their own series record, but in slightly less impressive style: 11 games played on New Year’s Day without a win.
With an FA Cup tie against Manchester City on the horizon, this was probably always going to be a period to endure rather than enjoy for Moore’s side, but Leicester have turned the knife ahead of a trip to the Etihad.
