LEICESTER, England: Leicester City moved away from bottom of the Premier League table with a comfortable 2-0 win over Leeds United on Thursday, the visitors’ seventh game without a win.
Leicester’s second win of the season was secured within 35 minutes when Robin Koch’s own goal and Harvey Barnes’ impressive finish put the hosts ahead at the King Power Stadium.
Leeds ran out of breath in the second half and home goalkeeper Danny Ward saved his only shot on goal of the game when he blocked Liam Cooper’s close shot.
Leicester finished the game with ease, moving up to 19th place by eight points over East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest, a point behind Leeds in 16th place as Yorkshire’s Jesse Marsch’s side edged closer to the relegation zone .
“When you’re down there, every point counts,” Leicester midfielder Youri Tielemans told Amazon. “We kept the ball really well, attacked them well and that was what we really needed.
“For us, every good performance gives us confidence, and we can build on that now.”
Pressure has mounted on both managers in recent weeks after their teams endured disappointing starts to the season.
Leicester received a boost for the Leeds visit when they welcomed striker Jamie Vardy back to the side, with the veteran still awaiting his first goal of the season.
However, Vardy played a role in setting up the first set as Koch was unable to prevent Dennis Praet’s low cross being diverted into his own net.
Leeds reacted well and created several chances to get back even, with Luis Sinisterra coming closest with a curl that hit the bar.
They couldn’t even count, however, and that proved costly as Barnes added a second and ended a sweeping Leicester counter-attack.
The fact that Leeds never looked set to return to the competition in the second half will be most frustrating for Marsch as the visitors slipped to a third straight defeat with a whimper.
They have now failed to win any of their first five away league games of a season for the first time since 1998/99, with a one-point tally being Leeds’ lowest of their first five games in a league campaign since 1983-84.
“We don’t help each other in either box, but we have to find ways to stop the bleeding now,” said the American Marsch. “We have to fight and be ready for what is coming.
“I’m here and I’m doing everything to help this team.”