Birmingham 2 Leicester 3
Two goals from Stephy Mavididi – his second double in three games – helped Leicester City to a 3-2 victory at Birmingham and virtually confirm the Foxes’ position as Christmas Championship leaders.
The result continued City’s 100% record in the West Midlands during 2023, following wins at Walsall, Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion.
It also extended Enzo Maresca’s record to an astonishing EIGHTEEN victories from 22 league games, a truly remarkable statistic given the City boss’s lack of previous managerial experience in English football.
As in the previous two fixtures, the Foxes were able to flourish despite the absence of strikers Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho. Indeed, the addition of Patson Daka to the City attack has given it a new lease of life, with ten goals in the three starts Daka has made to date.
In a frenetic start to the game at St Andrews, the hosts gave glimpses of the form that had seen them previously take points off both of City’s nearest challengers at the venue this season.
Visiting keeper Mads Hermansen was forced into several early saves, while James Justin sliced an attempted clearance against the woodwork.
Yet within seconds, Leicester went ahead as the ball broke to Mavididi, whose lightning break and one-two with Abdul Fatawu took him clear of the home defence. The composure shown by the winger in giving the move the finish it deserved has not always been present during the winger’s time in a City shirt.
Although Mavididi’s over-exuberant celebration drew ire from home fans – enough to earn him the first (and as it transpired, the only) booking of the evening, many away fans were heartened to see that the confidence issues that have occasionally undermined his games for us seem to have disappeared.
To their credit, and that of their manager, Birmingham continued to take the game to the league leaders, and reaped due reward when a slick passing move saw James outwit Jannik Vestergaard to fire an angled drive past Hermansen.
Less resilient sides than Maresca’s might have been left reeling by this setback. But, as at the Hawthorns, the Foxes stepped up a gear and found the scoresheet once again, this time when Fatawu sent Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall clear to round home keeper Ruddy before shooting home.
As the tempo of the game slowed, the visitors were able to assume a measure of control, and Daka spurned a good chance to extend the lead when miskicking from close range.
However the Zambian made amends soon after the interval when teeing up Mavididi for his second goal of the game, albeit with the aid of a significant deflection.
The Foxes’ control of the game, and the stream of chances created, should have been enough to secure of the points. But wasteful finishing, and a deflected strike by the lively James, made the closing minutes far more tense than they should have been, especially with the rain becoming steadily heavier.
Despite the blues bringing on a host of home strikers in the closing stages, though, City were able to hold out for a deserved victory, and it was no surprise to see Mavididi named by TV pundits as the player of the match.
Could the Derby-born winger make the step up to the top flight in the (increasingly likely) event of promotion? Now that he is starting to add extra end-product to his game, the evidence is encouraging.
But his more immediate task, and that of his team-mates, is to ensure that the form of recent weeks can be continued throughout the winter.
If that happens, the Blue Army will enjoy yet another memorable season.
Birmingham (4-2-3-1): Ruddy; Aiwu (Jutkiewicz 86), Roberts, Sanderson, Buchanan; Sunjic, Bielik (Burke 71); Dembélé (Miyoshi 71), James, Bacuna, (Hogan 81); Stansfield (Donovan 71). Subs not used: Etheridge, Gardner, Longelo, Oakley.
Goals: James (14,74).
Leicester (4-3-3): Hermansen; Ricardo, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin (Souttar 89); Winks, Ndidi, (Casadei 90) Dewsbury-Hall; Fatawu, Daka (Cannon 78), Mavididi (Choudhury 71). Subs not used: Ward, Stolarczyk, Coady, Nelson, Iheanacho.
Goals: Mavididi (10, 50), Dewsbury-Hall (21)
Booking: Mavididi.
Referee: David Webb. Attendance: 20 334
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.