Leeds overcome Schmeichel heroics as superb Bamford sinks Leicester
A complete display from Patrick Bamford helped to see off Leicester as Leeds took all three points in a pulsating contest.
A sloppy opening 10 minutes soon gave way to the all-action contest many had predicted.
Leicester took the lead in the 13th minute after neat interplay between in-form attackers Harvey Barnes and James Maddison.
Barnes received the ball after a one-two, and evaded the attentions of Luke Ayling to slot home into the bottom corner.
Undeterred, Leeds immediately hit back through Stuart Dallas. Ayling atoned for his slack marking moments prior by playing Patrick Bamford in down the right. He in turn fed the onrushing Dallas, who matched Barnes with an emphatic low drive that nestled in the bottom corner.
Leeds battle back 💪
Stuart Dallas finishes a lovely Leeds move and it is all square at the King Power Stadium
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Marcelo Bielsa was called into action early with Mateusz Klich selected to replace Rodrigo after succumbing to a groin injury.
Ayoze Perez – deputising for the injured Jamie Vardy – thought he’d restored the hosts’ advantage before the offside flag cut short the celebrations.
The back-and-forth contest then saw Leeds put the ball in the net, though Klich was correctly ruled to have been offside. The Polish midfielder prodded home from close-range after a spectacular Kasper Schmeichel save had denied Bamford but the flag once again went up.
Leeds were taking a firmer grasp on the contest and forced Schmeichel into smart stops through Jack Harrison and Raphinha.
With half-time nearing, The Foxes were forced into an early change of their own with Ricardo Pereira replacing Timothy Castagne.
The second-half brought a tactical change from Brendan Rodgers as Caglar Soyuncu was introduced to the action as part of a revamped back three.
The switch appeared to pay dividends in the early going with the first 15 minutes after the interval proving rather more sedate than the first-half.
The malaise was broken in emphatic fashion when Bamford rifled Leeds into a 2-1 lead.
An incisive first-time pass from Raphinha set Bamford away, before the centre-forward unleashed a powerful drive past Schmeichel into the top corner.
Patrick Bamford has now scored 10 Premier League goals from open-play this season, no player has scored more.
Eight of them have been away from home. 👀 pic.twitter.com/NpaCQpOyKx
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 31, 2021
Leicester sought to hit back immediately, and came close three times in a blistering 60 seconds through Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans and Perez.
With the game increasingly stretched, Leeds put the game beyond all doubt with a breathtaking counter-attack.
Bamford raced away on goal and drew the attentions of Schmeichel before sliding the ball across to Harrison to fire home into the empty net.
That sucker punch took the fight out of Leicester in the remaining minutes, with Leeds ultimately securing a 3-1 victory at the King Power.