Lincoln 1 City 3
Report by Colin Hall
Goals by Riyad Mahrez, Andrej Kramaric and Jamie Vardy gave Leicester City a 3-1 victory at Lincoln in the club’s first game of the 2015-16 pre-season.
The evening began on a sombre note with the disappointing – though not entirely unexpected – revelation that Esteban Cambiasso would not be returning to the Foxes.
It is not clear whether this decision was influenced by the appeal of potential challenges elsewhere, or a reaction to a summer of turmoil at Filbert Way. Nevertheless his departure is a huge blow to our hopes of Premier League consolidation.
With captain Wes Morgan absent on international duty, Kasper Schmeichel led the side in its first game under the charge of new manager Claudio Ranieri. New signings Christian Fuchs and Shinji Okazaki also featured in the starting line-up, making solid starts to their City careers.
City looked rusty and disjointed in the opening 20 minutes and it was little surprise when the hosts took the lead. Liam Moore charged down a close-range shot with his hand and Schmeichel was not quite able to keep out Alan Power’s spot-kick.
Eventually, though, Premier quality began to tell, with Mahrez particularly prominent in attack. He refused to be riled by a series of crude tackles from home defenders, and his anticipation allowed him to fire home an equaliser, pouncing on a loose ball following a challenge on Okazaki.
With the Imps becoming increasingly physical during the course of the game, it was perhaps for the best that Ranieri replaced his entire starting eleven at the break. The inclusion of Mark Schwarzer and Danny Simpson among the substitutes raised a number of eyebrows among the City contingent.
But the switch from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2 proved effective, with Marc Albrighton and Jeff Schlupp eager to continue where they left off at the end of the last campaign. Both were highly effective along the flanks, and as the hosts tired, City were able to create chances almost at will.
Only a combination of fine saves and poor finishing kept the scores level until Kramaric, previously wasteful in front of goal, produced a quality strike ten minutes from time to give City the lead.
This advantage was never placed under serious threat and Vardy prodded home an Albrighton cross in the dying minutes to give an extra gloss to the scoreline.
While the evening proved successful and reasonably entertaining for the 1400 Foxes who travelled up the Fosse Way, it also revealed weaknesses that Ranieri needs to address.
Although the attack is as strong as at any time at City during the Premier era, the squad is in urgent need of more depth in defence and steel in midfield, especially with just two weeks before the start of the season,
The new manager’s first signings may well be significant in determining the success – or otherwise – of his time at Leicester.
Lincoln: Farman, Wood, Stanley, Waterfall, Muldoon, Power, Rhead, Howe, Simmons, Beevers, Sparrow.
Subs: Grant, Tempest, Bush, Hearn, Robinson, Everington, Hodge, Brown, Wright, Nolan, Harrad, Bignall
Goal: Power 10 pen
Leicester (1st Half): Schmeichel, De Laet, Moore, Huth, Fuchs, Drinkwater, Hammond, Barmby, Mahrez, Ulloa, Okazaki
(2nd Half): Schwarzer, Simpson, Wasilewski, Chilwell, Albrighton, Lawrence, King, Schlupp, Nugent, Kramaric, Vardy
Goals: Mahrez 33, Kramaric 80, Vardy 90
Referee: Mr. Darren Drysdale
Attendance: 3,693 (1,384 away)
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation