Revitalised Foxes ready to ‘attack’, says Rodgers after milestone win

Leicester City came from behind to secure a 4-2 home win over Burnley on Sunday which was also a milestone 100th Premier League victory for their manager Brendan Rodgers -- Alex Ferguson, Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan are the only British managers to have reached the landmark in fewer matches.

The Foxes top the table, leading a group of five teams on a maximum six points from two games, with a superior goal difference after their opening 3-0 success at promoted West Bromwich Albion.

It was no more than Leicester deserved after falling behind to an early Chris Wood strike, as they displayed a wealth of attacking talent against the battling visitors.

Wood volleyed the ball past Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel from seven metres in the 10th minute after getting the better of James Justin, who failed to clear a Charlie Taylor cross from the left flank.

Harvey Barnes equalised in the 20th after some good work by Jamie Vardy, who shook off two defenders and laid the ball back unselfishly to Timothy Castagne who in turn squared it for Barnes to side-foot it home.

Castagne racked up another assist in the 50th minute as his fizzing low cross to Vardy was turned into his own net by Erik Pieters, with Leicester moving up a gear after the break.

Justin made amends for sloppy defending at Burnley’s opening goal when he netted the home team’s third around the hour mark, benefiting from nifty footwork by Ayoze Perez who set up the right back to slot the ball in at the far post.

Jimmy Dunne pulled one back for the visitors in the 73rd minute when he beat his marker to the ball and headed in a long Dwight McNeil free kick before Dennis Praet secured the win with the best goal of the match.

The Belgian midfielder unleashed an unstoppable shot past Burnley keeper Nick Pope from 18 metres before Wood hit the post for the visitors in the dying minutes of an action-packed clash at King Power stadium.

Rodgers meanwhile said Leicester were “ready to attack the season again” after the two wins from their opening two Premier League matches eased the pain of a disappointing end to last season.

Leicester lost out on a Champions League spot on the final day of the last campaign after a poor run when football resumed following the coronavirus shutdown.

“It (starting well), was always going to be important because there can be a hangover, if you don’t address it,” said Rodgers.

“But we spoke about it in our short pre-season period and felt ready to move on.

“The players have good motivation, they’ve scored seven goals in two games and it shows we’re ready to attack the season again.”

Sunday was the first time Leicester had ended the day at the top of the table since they won the title in 2015/16, but the Northern Irishman said it was far early to describe them as potential challengers.

“It’s only two games. After 10 games you start to get an idea of where the league is at,” said Rodgers. “We’re not even thinking about that (a sustained challenge).

“We’re looking to develop the team and the experiences of last season, both in the league and the cup, will really enrich us.”

GUNDOGAN TESTS POSITIVE: Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has tested positive for coronavirus, the Premier League club announced on Monday, hours ahead of their first match of the new campaign.

The Germany international is now in self-isolation as the club prepare to play Wolves at Molineux.

“Ilkay is now observing a 10-day period of self-isolation in accordance with Premier League and UK government protocol on quarantine,” said a City statement.

Gundogan is the third City player to return a positive test this month, following Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez.

Agencies