The manager discusses City’s 3-1 victory at Swansea, which extended their winning streak to seven games and gave them a five-point lead at the top of the Championship.
Jannik Vestergaard’s lack of celebration, as well as the substitutes’ pre-match support, demonstrate what a “special” team Enzo Maresca has at Leicester City, according to the manager after the 3-1 win over Swansea.
City came from behind to win their eighth straight game and extend their lead at the top to five points, with Vestergaard sparking the comeback by bundling in the equalizer before halftime. Rather than celebrating his first goal for the club, the Dane took the ball out of the net and ran back to the halfway line. That demonstrated City’s determination to win, according to Maresca.
The manager said that replacements Conor Coady, Hamza Choudhury, and Harry Souttar, as well as third-choice goalkeeper Danny Ward, were warming up their teammates in the opening 11 minutes of the game, demonstrating how cohesive the team is. It’s a gesture of unity that isn’t often seen in football.
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“The way he’s playing is unbelievable,” Maresca said of Vestergaard’s performance. “I’m overjoyed. And this is perhaps why this bunch is so exceptional; before the game, Hamza, Conor, Wardy, and Harry Souttar were the people who were discussing. They were all sitting on the bench.
“It wasn’t a team meeting; it was just people helping each other.” Most of the time, these kinds of things come from the first 11 guys. The bench players are always a little upset, depressed, and these things are typical. However, in our case, the guys on the bench are the ones who support, demonstrating our passion and unity.
“When Jannik scored, he didn’t celebrate; instead, he took the ball and restarted the game, demonstrating his desire to win.” For us, the concept is vital, as is playing both inside and outside, but the specifics are far more significant.”
The win was City’s sixth in a succession on the road, a new club record. Abdul Fatawu and Kelechi Iheanacho scored in the second half to seal the victory. Maresca feels they won because they did not lose sight of their gameplan despite falling down.
“I’m very happy,” he said. Even when we were down 1-0, we kept playing the same way. No need to worry. This is the most essential thing to us.
“We were in command in the first half.” We gave up a few transitions in the end, but we always believe that when you try to play, your opponent is waiting for you to make a mistake. Even so, I had the impression that we were in command. We generated conditions and opportunities. In the first half, we deserved to tie. I believe we continued in the same manner in the second half.
“The good feeling is that when we were 1-0 down, I could see players inside the pitch, like Harry (Winks), Ricardo (Pereira), Jannik, almost all of them, saying, ‘Guys, it doesn’t matter, keep going, keep going.'” It gives them hope that if they keep moving in this direction, something will happen.”
