That’s it for tonight’s blog. Thanks for your company and emails – goodnight.
Brendan Rodgers’ verdict
It’s been too long, to be honest [their first victory]. We were excellent tonight – the intensity, the pressing. It’s a great night for the players and the supporters. I said before the match that it could be a season-changing game.
We’ve played well with the ball this season, but against the ball in key moments we haven’t defended well. Tonight, we did that and we got our first clean sheet, which is important.
[On James Maddison not being picked by England] It’s a really, really difficult job, with the quality of players that are available. But it’s such a shame for the country, and for James himself. You see his talent… I think only Harry Kane has scored and created more goals in the past 18 months. To not even be in the squad… It’s not only his quality, in international football you want someone who has the personality to take the ball, be creative, change the game. James has all of that. He’s an absolutely brilliant player and a great, great lad.
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Here’s Ben Fisher’s report from the King Power Stadium
No doubting this has been a poor performance. Missed chances. Defence looks wobbly. Fair play to 🦊 some quality goals. Maddison different class. I think Stevie Cooper is the man for the job. Full trust in him. Keep the faith You Reds 🔴⚪️ https://t.co/LVmX8zHDHO
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) October 3, 2022
In case you needed reminding, James Maddison is pure class 🎯💪 pic.twitter.com/sFym62fpdr
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 3, 2022
Full time: Leicester 4-0 Nottm Forest
Peep peep! Leicester leapfrog Nottingham Forest after an emphatic win at the King Power Stadium. James Maddison ran the show and scored twice; Harvey Barnes and the substitute Patson Daka added classy goals to ensure Leicester got their first win of the season in style. And – glory be – they kept a clean sheet too.
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90+2 min Cook is booked for a cynical foul on the breaking Soumare. For the team, he took one.
90 min Three minutes of added time.
89 min Gibbs-White misses a good chance for Forest, heading straight at Ward from Dennis’s excellent cross. They have had a few decent chances in the second half, though overall they have been outplayed.
87 min “Oh how I wish I was there,” says Darryl Simpson. “Season-ticket holder, hurt my spine, can’t go all season. Great performance, makes me feel better.”
Crikey, that sounds rough. I hope you at least have a comfortable seat from which to enjoy James Maddison over the next few months.
85 min Marc Albrighton replaces the marvellous James Maddison, who is warmly embraced by Brendan Rodgers. The fella who saved me job!
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83 min Maddison is booked for having a nibble at Renan Lodi.
80 min A change for Leicester: Dennis Praet replaces Youri Tielemans, who was quietly excellent.
78 min Gibbs-White flicks a superb through ball to Johnson, whose first-time shot is pushed round the near post by Ward. The angle was pretty tight in the end.
77 min Here’s that fine goal from Patson Daka.
Patson Daka, that is cheeky! 😉 pic.twitter.com/R4YGKyqPpY
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 3, 2022
76 min The Leicester fans are having a whale of a time. This should – should – be the start of a reasonably rapid rise up the table.
It’s another excellent Leicester goal. This time it was made by Maddison, who considered his options and then swept a fast cross towards Daka, 10 yards from goal. He improvised beautifully, flicking the ball behind his standing leg and past Henderson at the near post.
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GOAL! Leicester 4-0 Nottm Forest (Daka 73)
Patson Daka makes it four with a lovely finish!
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71 min Soumare is booked for pulling back Mangala. This is a decent spell for Forest, relatively speaking.
71 min “Before tonight, I was still harbouring a dash of hope that Forest would stay up,” says Matthew Turland. “That dash has now been reduced to a soupçon. But it would disappear completely if we sack Cooper. I get the impression that a few of the signings were made with the possibility of relegation in mind. Williams, Dennis, O’Brien and Toffolo for example so keep the man in charge to get us out of the Championship again. If we go down. Which we probably will. But I’m still being poisoned by hope.”
70 min An outstanding run from Brennan Johnson, who beats four players before the last man Soumare comes across to concede a corner.
69 min The disappointing Jesse LIngard is replaced by Orel Mangala, who immediately hands a note to Ryan Yates.
67 min After a long passing move from Leicester, Maddison turns Freuler on the edge of the area before shooting well wide with his left foot.
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65 min Dennis misses a one-on-one, though the flag went up after the event. He was well offside.
64 min Lingard is booked for a high challenge on Justin.
62 min Forest bring on Emmanuel Dennis for Taiwo Awoniyi.
61 min Maddison is in a lot of pain after a challenge from Lodi. I don’t think it was deliberate – Lodi seemed to fall onto the back of Maddison’s leg. While he receives treatment, Patson Daka replaces Jamie Vardy.
61 min A bit of a quiet spell. Forest are readying to more substitues.
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60 min A win was the most important thing for Leicester, but they’ll also be desperate for a clean sheet after all the defensive problems they’ve had. In fact I think they’ve only kept four clean sheets in the league in 2022.
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57 min Castagne goes down holding his jaw after running into Yates’s elbow. He’s fine to continue.
55 min The VAR check is complete – no penalty. I’m slightly surprised at that.
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54 min Castagne’s flat cross is met on the run by Barnes, whose acrobatic, cushioned volley hits Cook and deflects over the bar. It hit his hand, in fact, and this might be a penalty.
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52 min: Good save by Ward! Awoniyi marches through on goal, onto a long clearance from McKenna. Ward is caught in no man’s land but ends up making a good diving save right on the edge of the area. The ball rebounds to Johnson, who can’t control it on the stretch. Had he done so, he’d have had an open goal. Awoniyi probably had more time, too, and could have floated the ball over Ward.
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52 min “When was the last time a team was promoted with such a universal buzz and sense of positivity about them?” says Matt Dony. “Maybe Leeds, but only because of Bielsa (that Dirty Leeds tag is hard to shake). It seemed like absolutely everyone was excited to see Forest in the top flight. Now, I don’t want to sound hyperbolic, but it feels like they are disappointing the entire football community. They’re letting you down, they’re letting me down, they’re letting everyone down. Neco Williams will still be a star, though.”
They’ll also lose a lot of goodwill if they sack Steve Cooper tomorrow.
51 min Maddison’s corner ricochets around the area and is scooped over the bar by Faes. That wasn’t a bad chance.
49 min “Not just the full-backs,” says Kári Tulinius. “What struck me especially now was how poor Kouyaté was. He was so good for Senegal and Crystal Palace. But yes, Williams and Lodi are also nowhere near how good they have been in the past.”
I don’t know how you can expect to succeed with almost an entirely new squad. The Premier League is hard enough for promoted teams anyway.
48 min “So,” says Rob Hisnay, “moving to Forest doesn’t look like a good career move for Lingard and Henderson.”
Henderson will be fine but you fear for Lingard. He turns 30 in December, the day after the second World Cup semi-final, and it feels a long time ago that he played in a semi-final himself.
47 min Barnes curls a low shot towards the far corner that is comfortably saved by the diving Henderson.
46 min Peep peep! Leicester have made a half-time change as well, Boubakary Soumare for Wilfred Ndidi.
Forest are making a triple substitution. Serge Aurier, Ryan Yates and Remo Freueler are on for Lewis O’Brien, Cheikhou Kouyate and Neco Williams.
“Our defenders knew each other from last season,” says Simon Frank. “Maybe we should sign some new ones (yawn).”
I assumed he meant the full-backs. I do have a bit of sympathy for Forest – they had to sign more new players than most because of all the loans last season, not to mention the demands of the Premier League. But this is all a bit of a mess, and it’ll be even worse if they sack the manager.
Half-time reading
Half time: Leicester 3-0 Nottingham Forest
Leicester are on course for their first victory of the season after a joyous first half at the King Power Stadium. The inspirational James Maddison scored twice, either side of a beauty from Harvey Barnes, in an increasingly one-sided half. Forest had a big chance at 0-0, when Taiwo Awoniyi hit the post, but there are no hard-luck stories here.
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43 min Leicester break dangerously down the right, with Vardy’s cross put behind by Lodi. Maddison’s corner isn’t the best.
James Maddison scores his 50th goal for Leicester:
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) October 3, 2022
👕 178 games
⚽ 50 goals
🅰️ 33 assists
Scores another excellent free-kick. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hNhybG9ret
39 min Lingard has a chance to get one back for Forest, but he takes one touch too many and his shot from 15 yards is blocked by Tielemans. The chance came after a terrific, driving run from Johnson in the inside-right channel. He squared it to Lingard, who was a bit too indecisive.
38 min “Clearly the big takeaway from Forest’s return to the Premier League is don’t try to buy an entire new squad over the summer,” says Kári Tulinius. “However, the defenders still play as if they met five minutes before the game started. There should be some coherence after two months.”
36 min That’s Maddison’s 50th goal for Leicester. I could happily watch him play football (and do post-match interviews, for that matter, because he’s equally great at those) for the rest of my days.
James Maddison, that is INSANE! 🔥🔥🔥
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 3, 2022
Those replays 🤤 pic.twitter.com/zVf5snGUNB
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It was a brilliant free-kick from Maddison, curled across goal and into the net via the inside of the post. Maddison is such an infectious, stylish footballer, and he has been irresistible tonight.
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GOAL! Leicester 3-0 Nottm Forest (Maddison 35)
James Maddison is a joy to watch!
34 min“I was fully expecting Maddison to break out his patented darting celebration considering the darts World Grand Prix is taking place as we speak fewer than three miles down the road from the King Power Stadium,” says J.R. in Illinois. “How disappointing.”
Ssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh! I want to watch that on delay when this is over.
33 min Dewsbury-Hall surges forward and is fouled on the edge of the D by Kouyate. He’s booked. Forest are getting a bit of a chasing here.
31 min Vardy shoots straight at Henderson, though he was offside anyway. It’s all Leicester at the moment.
29 min Kneejerk department: Leicester have some winnable games coming up as well.
Vardy ran down the left, onto a long pass, and then fed it back to Barnes on the edge of the area. He moved Williams one way and then the other before flashing a curling shot into the far corner. Henderson had no chance.
Ohhh, STOP THAT Harvey Barnes! 🤤
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 3, 2022
What a finish and Leicester are flying! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8LbbK5W1lL
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GOAL! Leicester 2-0 Nottm Forest (Barnes 27)
The second best player on the pitch makes it 2-0 with a brilliant goal!
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It took a big deflection, but Maddison won’t care. A dreadful clearance from Lingard went straight to Maddison on the edge of the D. He opened his body to curl a shot that hit McKenna and wrongfooted Henderson. After seeing a replay I’m not 100 per cent sure Maddison’s shot was on target, so it may yet go down as an own goal.
JAMES MADDISON! 👊
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 3, 2022
Just look how much that goal means! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/iNPSHWZvg8
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GOAL! Leicester 1-0 Nottm Forest (Maddison 25)
The best player on the pitch gives Leicester the lead!
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22 min: Awoniyi hits the post! Out of nothing, Forest almost take the lead. Lingard played a good pass through the lines to Gibbs-White, who stabbed an even better one past Faes to put Awoniyi through on goal. He sidefooted the ball past Ward and it hit the base of the left-hand post.
20 min Good game, this.
19 min A fast, flat free-kick from Maddison just evades Vardy on the six-yard line. At the other end, Gibbs-White’s through ball is poked wide by Johnson, who was put off by the outrushing Ward. I think Johnson was offside anyway.
17 min Williams is booked for handball. He’s a bit unfortunate, although he probably should have been booked earlier. IT ALL EVENS ITSELF OUT OVER THE COURSE OF A SEASON.
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16 min Leicester’s schemers, Barnes and Maddison, look really bright.
15 min Another chance for Vardy, who shoots straight at Henderson after being put through superbly by Barnes. The angle was fairly tight, to the left of the area, and he couldn’t shape the ball towards the far corner.
14 min Maddison drops the resulting free-kick onto the head of Vardy, who heads wide of the near post from 12 yards. It wasn’t the eaiest chance, as the ball was slightly behind him when he made contact.
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13 min Williams is fortunate to avoid a yellow card after chopping down Barnes. Leicester are starting to take control of the game.
12 min The lively Maddison finds Dewsbury-Hall in a bit of space, 25 yards from goal. He pushes the ball forward and thrashes a rising drive that goes a few yards wide of the far post. It looked closer than it was.
11 min Nowt comes of the corner.
10 min Justin’s shot from the edge of the area takes a deflection and loops overthe bar. It’s been an open start to the game, which isn’t always the case when the bottom two play each other. I suppose the main problem for both teams this season has been defence rather than attack.
8 min Ndidi is penalised, probably a little harshly, for a challenge on Johnson just outside the area on the right. Lodi smashes the free-kick into the crowd and Vardy heads behind for a corner.
6 min This is the revised Forest formation: Henderson; Williams, Cook, McKenna, Lodi; Kouyate, O’Brien; Johnson, Gibbs-White, Lingard; Awoniyi.
5 min: Chance for Leicester! Lovely play from Maddison, who sits Lodi down on the right side of the area and teases a deep cross that is headed just wide by Dewsbury-Hall. He should have scored.
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3 min “A proposal,” says Kevin Gier. “Every game involving Forest vs another Midlands team has to be introduced with the old ATV Star Soccer theme. It just fits with Forest.”
2 min Johnson wins an early corner for Forest on the right. Gibbs-White’s outswinger is headed away to O’Brien, 20 yards out. He drives a shot that hits Evans and goes behind for another corner.
1 min Forest have indeed switched to 4-2-3-1, with Kouyate and O’Brien in midfield.
1 min Peep peep! Leicester kick off from left to right as we watch.
The players are ready for action, and there’s a cracking atmosphere at the King Power Stadium. These teams don’t love one another.
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Previously on…
“Another loss here for the Foxes and surely its time for Dyche,” says Gary Kennedy.
I love Dyche but is he the right fit for this group of players?
“Leicester have several problems,” says Jonathan Tasker. “But the biggest may be the loss of Kasper Schmeichel. Danny Ward is nowhere near good enough.”
They really miss his leadership too.
Team news
Jamie Vardy replaces Patson Daka up front for Leicester, the only change from the 6-2 defeat at Spurs before the international break.
Steve Cooper makes three changes from the team that lost at home to Fulham. Cheikhou Kouyate, Jesse Lingard and Lewis O’Brien replace Willy Boly, Remo Freuler and Ryan Yates. That might mean a switch to a back four; we’ll find out at kick-off.
Leicester City (4-1-4-1) Ward; Castagne, Evans, Faes, Justin; Ndidi; Maddison, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes; Vardy.
Substitutes: Iversen, Amartey, Thomas, Soumare, Albrighton, Praet, Perez, Iheanacho, Daka.
Nottingham Forest (possible 3-3-2-2) Henderson; Kouyate, Cook, McKenna; Williams, O’Brien, Lodi; Gibbs-White, Lingard; Johnson, Awoniyi.
Substitutes: Hennessey, Aurier, Boly, Worrall, Yates, Mangala, Freuler, Dennis, Surridge.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of the P45 derby at the King Power Stadium. It’s an unkind description of tonight’s match between Leicester City and Nottingham Forest, but we can’t ignore the persistent speculation that either Brendan Rodgers or Steve Cooper will be sacked if their team loses tonight.
Leicester are bottom of the league and on a run of six straight defeats; Forest are second bottom and have lost the last four. Let’s accentuate the positive: at least one of them will end their losing run tonight.
Kick off 8pm.
