MADDISON SILENCES TORMENTORS AS FOXES SQUEEZE PAST BEES

WHEN his moment came, James Maddison made the most of it. He had been targeted by the Brentford crowd all afternoon and, after his first goal since February gave Leicester their third win in nine days, he was in no mood to let the matter slide. Having tapped substitute Patson Daka’s pass into an empty net in the 74th minute, Maddison celebrated in front of the home supporters, finger raised to his lips (left). When he was substituted moments later, he goaded them again, prompting an angry reaction from Brentford forward Ivan Toney.

This was a determined display from Brendan Rodgers’ men, who were without Jamie Vardy — who felt pain in the warm-up — for the second half. Youri Tielemans’ glorious strike gave them a 14th-minute lead but Matthias Jorgensen equalised on the hour before Maddison struck. Vardy appeared with strapping on his right knee at full-time and will be assessed today. Leicester rode their luck and were grateful for a tight offside call that saw Toney’s early goal ruled out, but Maddison will take heart from having scored. Though he has played much better than this, he is a showman who thrives on confidence. The chants of ‘You’ll never play for England’ — not strictly true, as Maddison did win one cap two years ago — will have hurt, as will his poor form since returning from a hip injury in the spring.

Leicester were prepared to listen to offers for Maddison last summer and he could not get into the team before the last international break. But Rodgers’ switch to a 3-4-1-2 system has given Maddison his chance and if this goal brings the 24-year-old back to peak form, he will take some shifting. ‘He is returning to his best level,’ said Rodgers. ‘The goal will be important for him. ‘If you’re not creating or scoring, your confidence can take a dip, but we have seen from his last few performances that his confidence is coming back. He

just has to be the best version of himself.’ Despite beating Manchester United and Spartak Moscow in their last two games, this looked a tough test for Leicester, with Brentford having taken four points from Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea at home this season. The Bees began brightly with Kasper Schmeichel saving well from Christian Norgaard before Toney’s goal was chalked off, then Tielemans put Leicester in front with a vicious hit from 25 yards. ‘Sign him up!’ shouted the Foxes fans, in reference to Tielemans’ deal which expires at the end of next season. ‘The club and his representatives will talk and hopefully we can find a solution,’ Rodgers added. Leicester found it difficult to play through Brentford’s high press and conceded cheap set-pieces, but the home side only carved out one more clear chance before the break, with Schmeichel turning over Toney’s header. Daka, Leicester’s four-goal hero in Russia on Wednesday, replaced Vardy at half-time but Brentford soon levelled when Jorgensen glanced in Mathias Jensen’s corner. Their confidence was growing but then the unmarked

Pontus Jansson headed another Jensen corner wide, and Thomas Frank’s side paid for that miss as Leicester swept the length of the field to regain the lead. Kelechi Iheanacho laid off Schmeichel’s delivery to Tielemans, whose sublime pass sent Daka racing clear. With Maddison to his left, Daka squared the ball and gave his team-mate a simple task. ‘We hammered Leicester in the first half and would have won this game seven times out of 10,’ said Bees boss Frank. ‘Tielemans wouldn’t score that goal even 10 times out of 100. I told Schmeichel they were f ****** lucky today.’ BRENTFORD (3-5-2): Raya 6.5; Jorgensen 6.5, Jansson 6, Pinnock 6.5 (Ajer 46min, 6); Canos 6.5, Onyeka 6.5 (Ghoddos 77), Norgaard 7.5, Jensen 7.5, Henry 7; Mbeumo 5.5 (Forss 57, 6), Toney 7. Scorer: Jorgensen 60. Booked: Jorgensen. Manager: Thomas Frank 6.5. LEICESTER (3-4-1-2): Schmeichel 7; Amartey 6, EVANS 8, Soyuncu 5 (Vestergaard 68, 6); Pereira 6.5, Tielemans 7.5, Soumare 6, Castagne 6; Maddison 6.5 (Perez 79); Iheanacho 7.5, Vardy 6 (Daka 46, 6). Scorers: Tielemans 14, Maddison 74. Booked: Soyuncu. Manager: Brendan Rodgers 6.5. Referee: Simon Hooper 6. Attendance: 16,500.