Swansea City 2 Leicester City 0
Match report by Colin Hall
Two goals from Swansea's Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony were enough to condemn Leicester City to defeat at the Liberty Stadium. The result, together with others over the weekend, leaves the Foxes just one point and one place above the Premier League relegation zone.
Once again, Nigel Pearson's side performed well below their capabilities on their travels. Second best in every area of the pitch, they often looked despondent, disorganised, and dispirited – a pale shadow of the team that despatched Manchester United a few short weeks ago.
Pearson had rung the changes from the side that appeared at Newcastle, restoring Hammond, Mahrez, Vardy and Nugent to the starting eleven in place of James, Cambiasso, Albrighton and Schlupp.
But several members of the team looked uncomfortable with both the 4-3-3 formation and the roles they were asked to perform within it. To many observers, the manager seemed to have picked a side to match Swansea's strengths rather than one that played to its own.
In contrast, the home side stuck to their tried and trusted game plan which has served them well for years under several managers. Their three internationals in central midfield were particularly prominent as they took the game to the Foxes right from the outset.
Only a stalwart rearguard action, most notably from skipper Wes Morgan, kept Swansea at bay during a one-sided first half. However, the breakthrough finally came after 34 minutes when a fine passing move cut the visiting defence to shreds, and Bony applied a cool finish to put his side in front.
The visitors offered very little as an attacking threat, barring the occasional break from Mahrez on the rare occasions he saw the ball and even then he struggled to find an effective final cross.
They needed to step up several gears after the interval, and showed signs of rousing themselves early in the second half. Mahrez fired narrowly over before home midfielder Shelvey, attempting to clear a Moore long-throw, sliced the ball against his own crossbar, though referee Jones bizarrely gave a goal kick to Swansea.
The Foxes finally managed a shot on target after 56 minutes as home keeper Fabianski collected a long-range effort from Drinkwater. But within seconds, the outcome of the game was finally settled.
Sigurdsson sent Montero clear on the left and as defenders stopped in anticipation of an offside flag which never came, the winger raced to the by-line and crossed for Bony to tap home his second goal.
Swansea spent the rest of the game in cruise control with an eye on the forthcoming midweek League Cup tie with Liverpool, although Shelvey almost added further gloss to the scoreline with a 35-yard thunderbolt which beat Schmeichel but not the woodwork.
Pearson made a triple substitution midway through the half, bringing on Cambiasso, James and King for Hammond, Drinkwater and Vardy. But the horse had long since bolted by then, and the substitutes had limited impact on proceedings.
Morgan had a strong penalty claim denied in the closing stages, while Fabianski produced a stunning double save to deny King and Cambiasso at the death. The final scoreline, though, was an accurate reflection of the gap between the two sides on the night.
It was notable that visiting fans travelled to south Wales in far fewer numbers than for previous away fixtures this season. But the stayaways will feel vindicated after another disappointing display at a venue where the Foxes have yet to score, let alone win.
If Leicester are to stop the rot during the coming weeks, the manager has to resist the temptation to put square pegs in round holes – especially in cases when, as at Swansea, perfectly reasonable round pegs lie unused on the bench.
Swansea (4-3-3): Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams,Taylor; Ki, Shelvey, Sigurdsson (Carroll 58); Routledge (Dyer 83), Bony (Gomis 83) Montero.
Subs not used: Tremmel, Shephard, Bartley, Emnes.
Goals: Bony (34, 57)
Leicester (4-3-3): Schmeichel, De Laet, Morgan, Moore, Konchesky; Hammond (King 68) Drinkwater (Cambiasso 68), Nugent; Mahrez, Ulloa, Vardy (James 68).
Subs not used: Smith, Schlupp, Wasilewski, Wood.
Referee: Mike Jones
Attendance: 20,259
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not necessarily represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation