MX23RW : Friday, April 26 00:07:06| >> :120:8313:8313:
[monks data]
Leicester logo
Europa League | Group Stage
Oct 22, 2020 at 8pm UK
King Power Stadium

Leicester
3 - 0
Luhansk

Maddison (29'), Barnes (45'), Iheanacho (67')
Tielemans (12')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Kabaiev (27'), Vernydub (77')

Leicester City put three goals past Zorya Luhansk to triumph in Europa League opener

James Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho scored as Leicester beat Zorya Luhansk.

Leicester made the perfect start to their Europa League campaign after a comfortable 3-0 win over Zorya Luhansk.

James Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho struck to give the Foxes victory in their Group G opener.

Kasper Schmeichel denied Vladyslav Kabayev but the hosts eventually brushed off the visitors from Ukraine without the injured Jamie Vardy.

They travel to AEK Athens next week, after facing Arsenal on Sunday, having made their European return following a three-year absence.

Brendan Rodgers' side also earned a morale-boosting win after damaging home defeats to West Ham and Aston Villa.

But the Foxes – also without the injured Caglar Soyuncu and Wilfred Ndidi – were still forced to sweat in the first half.

Zorya, who have qualified for Europe in the last seven seasons, made a solid start and Vladlen Yurchenko shot over.

Leicester were initially sloppy and almost paid the price against limited Zorya in the 22nd minute.

Maksym Lunov slid the ball across the box for the onrushing Kabayev but, with the forward stretching, Schmeichel saved well at the far post.

The hosts had created little but opened the scoring with their first chance of the game after 29 minutes.

Barnes, their brightest spark, cut in from the left and his curling shot came back off the post.

It fell for Iheanacho but, crowded out by defenders, all he could do was shield the ball for Maddison to arrive and tap in.

Leicester's confidence grew and Mykyta Shevchenko saved Barnes' low effort soon after but they survived a scare after Schmeichel's mistake four minutes before the break.

The goalkeeper rattled a routine clearance into Yurchenko and the ball broke to Dmytro Ivanisenia but the midfielder lobbed his shot wide of an empty net.

Yet the Foxes ended any lingering fears by doubling their lead in first-half stoppage time.

Christian Fuchs' fine pass found Iheanacho and he held the ball up for Barnes to race though and produce an impudent finish past Shevchenko.

A second allowed Leicester to relax and they pressed for another with Wesley Fofana flashing a header wide 10 minutes after the break.

Zorya's roughhouse tactics did little to upset the Foxes and, after Maddison drilled over, Iheanacho got his goal after 67 minutes.

It was a gift from Zorya as Ivanisenia's loose pass went straight to the striker who turned Lovro Cvek to find the bottom corner.

He then hit the side netting with 20 minutes left as Leicester cruised to victory.

ID:419405: cacheID:419405:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4549:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta pictured on September 19, 2020
Read Next:
A look at the British clubs playing in the Europa League this week
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
10am
Bublik
Carballes Baena
10am
Marozsan
Cerundolo
10am
Musetti
Seyboth Wild
10am
Paul
Klein
10am
Rublev
Bagnis
10am
Andreeva
Noskova
10am
Bronzetti
Rybakina
10am
Garcia
Wang
10am
Pavlyuchenkova
Saville
11.30am
Altmaier
Fils
11.30am
Martin Etcheverry
Shapovalov
11.30am
Alexandrova
Krueger
11.30am
Bucsa
Kasatkina
11.30am
Dolehide
Kalinina
11.30am
Jimenez Kasintseva
Paolini
11.30am
Linette
Sabalenka
1pm
Baez
Van Assche
1pm
Hurkacz
Draper
1pm
Bejlek
Kalinskaya
1pm
Cristian
Krejcikova
1pm
Kostyuk
Sherif
2pm
Zheng
Putintseva
2.30pm
Humbert
Van De Zandschulp
2.30pm
Darderi
Fritz
2.30pm
Boulter
Montgomery
3pm
Shevchenko
Alcaraz
3.30pm
Vondrousova
Rogers
4pm
Griekspoor
Daniel
4pm
Munar
Struff
5pm
Navone
Rune
7pm
Coric
Zverev
8.30pm
Collins
Danilovic
11.30am
Shang
Davidovich Fokina
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
QWest Ham650115
QFreiburg640212
3Olympiacos62137
4Backa Topola60151

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
QBrighton641113
QMarseille632111
3Ajax61235
4AEK Athens61144

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
QRangers632111
QSparta Prague631210
3Betis63039
4Aris Limassol61144

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
QAtalanta642014
QSporting Lisbon632111
3Sturm Graz61144
4Rakow61144

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
QLiverpool640212
QToulouse632111
3Union SG62228
4LASK61053

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
QVillarreal641113
QRennes640212
3M. Haifa61235
4Panathinaikos61144

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
QSlavia Prague650115
QRoma641113
3Servette61235
4Sheriff Tiraspol60151

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
QB. Leverkusen660018
QQarabag631210
3Molde62137
4Hacken60060


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!