Leicester City manager Marti Cifuentes lauded his players as they recorded a big 2-0 win over Birmingham City on Friday night.
The build up to the fixture was centred on the two teams’ promotions ambitions, with the pair both expected to be challenging for a place in the Premier League. Birmingham had enjoyed an unbeaten start to the campaign following their record-breaking League One campaign and could have temporarily moved to the top of the table with a win.
Leicester had won two and lost one of their opening three fixtures prior to the clash and knew they needed to make a statement. The Foxes received the perfect start when Abdul Fatawu converted after just eight minutes.
The Blues tried to craft a way back into the game but struggled to create any clear cut chances in the absence of talisman Jay Stansfield. The three points were sealed by the home side late on when Ricardo Pereira doubled the advantage with two minutes remaining after some excellent work from teenager Jeremy Monga.
Cifuentes Delighted With Hard-Fought Win
In truth, it was a game that Leicester deserved to win, despite the performance being far from scintilating. It was a view shared by Cifuentes, who revealed his delight in the aftermath of the victory:
“I am happy because it is never easy to win in this league against a good team. It was hard, but we had to grind it out and credit my players for doing that.
“We showed commitment, determination and resilience to see it out.
“We did not concede many chances and our keeper did not have too much work to do.
“I am pleased for my players and the young ones – (Louis) Page and (Jeremy) Monga – had really good energy. They will help us for sure, but that was also about everyone.
“We can get better at controlling games, for sure. But we showed good qualities.
“Abdul is very important for us. I am delighted for him because he had a tough season last time and he has a smile on his face now. So that’s good.
“The target is always to have the best squad possible and, when the deadline passes, hopefully I will be as pleased as I am now.”
Writer’s View
This was always going to be a tetchy affair between two quality teams. Leicester eventually prevailed and were good value for the three points, which will give a renewed optimism around the King Power Stadium. There were concerns following their defeat against Preston North End and Carabao Cup exit at the hands of League One’s Huddersfield Town earlier this month, but they have now bounced back with back-to-back victories. That will make the upcoming international break easier to digest.
