MAD’S STAR TURN
James’ touch of Cruyff for flying Foxes
JAMES MADDISON delivered last night to help propel Leicester from the bottom of the group to the top as King Power boos turned to cheers.
Brendan Rodgers men have hit the front of Group C in perfect time with just one game left at Napoli on December 9.
Only top spot guarantees a last-16 place and Leicester tore into Warsaw with serious intent after being booed off against Chelsea on Saturday.
Patson Daka opened the scoring before Maddison produced a brilliant ‘Cruyff’ turn and finish to make it 2-0.
Warsaw pulled a goal back but Maddison’s pin-point corner picked out Wilfred Ndidi to make it 3-1 before the break.
Leicester were reassuringly compact and solid in the second half to see out the game.
The Foxes showed character after losing key defender Jonny Evans injured in the warm up to be replaced by Daniel Amartey. And they took the lead in the 11th minute after Luke Thomas won possession and released Harvey Barnes. His run to the edge of the box was halted but the ricochet fell kindly for Daka who turned and buried a low left-foot finish. It was his fifth goal in Europe this season and his sixth in total, just one less than JamieVardy.
The hosts’ second was pure class. Maddison instigated the danger wide on the right as he exchanged passes with Ademola Lookman. He then bamboozled the visitors’ defence with a Cruyff turn before curling a left-foot finish in the 21st minute.
But Leicester’s advantage was halved when Ndidi was penalised for handball. Mahir Emreli’s penalty was saved by Kasper Schmeichel but Filip Mladenovic tapped in the rebound in the 26th minute. It did not take the hosts long to restore their two-goal lead as Maddison’s inswinging corner was glanced home by Ndidi in the 33rd minute.
Yet it was consistent with Leicester’s defensive woes this term that they needed some desperate defending before the interval.
The hosts were much more solid in the second half and enjoyed the full support of fans after Rodgers hit out at the booing last week. Maddison, left, did not hit the heights again after being clattered and subbed. However, his classy contribution was enough to put Leicester in pole position for the last 16.