MADD FOR IT!
Foxes DOWN to the bare bones ... but so UP for the cup
WEMBLEY WAYS... Maddison makes it 2-0 to Leicester as FA Cup holders march on
VITAL STATS
LEICESTER By NEIL MOXLEY at King Power Stadium
THE FA Cup holders kicked off the defence of their trophy in style – despite having just ONE senior defender left on the pitch.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was hit by a string of problems that left him without 17 players as his resources were stretched to the limit.
The Foxes’ chief (below) wasn’t even able to name a full complement of bodies on the substitutes’ bench.
In the absence of striker Jamie Vardy – out for two months injured – Ademola Lookman went up front. And with James Maddison’s pulling strings, the hosts won in style.
Rodgers said: “I was absolutely thrilled with the performance – we had eight senior players fit and they all played, so we had 10 academy products in our squad.
“To see them come in and perform against another Premier League club, with that understanding, it was great for them.
“You consider we had Hamza Choudhury at centre-half – and what a performance from him. I rang him Friday and said he was going to be Leicester’s Javier Mascherano.
“He just accepted it and played to a really high level.
“We found a way to put a team out there. Seeing all the young players in it gave me a great deal of joy.”
Rodgers was forced to put on his thinking cap as a combination of factors decimated his first-team squad. He has a number of big injuries – Wesley Fofana, Vardy and key centre-half Jonny Evans are all out.
Add in a couple of players struggling to shake off the effects of Covid and four
We only had eight senior players fit and they all played, so we had 10 academy products in our squad others at the Africa Cup of Nations, he was left with just stopper Jannik Vestergaard as the one defensive player in his recognised position.
Claudio Ranieri’s Watford were their own worst enemies. They conceded an early penalty when Francisco Sierralta hauled over Vestergaard. Youri Tielemans scored from the spot.
Soon, the visitors were 2-0 down. Marc Albrighton fed Lookman from the right, and he played the ball in to Maddison who dinked his shot over an on-rushing Daniel Bachmann.
Watford hit back inside 60 seconds – Ashley Fletcher fed Joao Pedro who slotted home.
But nine minutes later the visitors were again cut open.
Maddison fed Lookman, and he found Harvey Barnes who sprinted on through to finish.
In the final few seconds Lookman saw a shot saved but Albrighton smashed home the rebound. Ranieri said: “My priority was to save players for the rest of the season. We had a couple of chances at 2-1 but for me it was good as I have no injured players.”
He added: “My only focus is the next three matches.”
LEICESTER: Ward 6, Albrighton 7, Choudhury 7, Vestergaard 6, Daley-campbell 5, (Ma Divadua 46, 6), Tielemans 7, Brunt 6, Perez 6 (Mcateer 74, 5), Maddison 8, Barnes 7, Lookman 7 (Alves 86).
Subs not used: Schmeichel, Stolarczyk, Nelson, Braybrooke.
WATFORD: Bachmann 6, Ngakia 7, Cathcart 5, Sierralta 5, Morris 6, Sissoko 5, (Conteh 74, 5) Fletcher 5, (Sema 58, 5) Cleverley 5, (Kucka 58, 5), Pedro 6, (Forde 74, 5), Hernandez 6, Tufan 5. (Gosling 58, 5) .
Subs not used: King, Kamara, Elliot, Agyakwa.
MAN OF THE MATCH: James Maddison. Took responsibility from the first whistle - and revelled in it.
REFEREE: Mike Dean 8.