Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca praised the hard work of his team, who pulled off a turnaround against Rotherham United to win 3-0.
- Leicester City beat Rotherham United 3-0 at home to stay top of the Sky Bet Championship
- Patson Daka (2) and Cesare Casadei score at King Power Stadium
- Manager Enzo Maresca assesses his Foxes’ performance on Saturday
- He also looked back on an exciting game against Ipswich Town
With the scores tied at the break, City took the lead in the second half through Patson Daka, who scored twice from the penalty spot, before Cesare Casadei increased the advantage to help them take the three points at the King Power Stadium. The Foxes will stay top of the Sky Bet Championship on Boxing Day.
Maresca commented after Saturday’s full-time: “It was a good win, especially because it’s another win, which is the most important thing. But then it was exactly the kind of match we expected – a tough one because we knew we had to be patient.
“We did the hardest thing in this match, which was to find the goal, and then we deserved to win.”
“But in the end we did the hardest thing in this match, which was to find the goal, and then we deserved to win.
“To be honest, even [in] the first half, when we finished 0-0, I was happy because against a team like that, when you go down, it’s very difficult to find space, to find solutions, to find a goal.
“At the same time, it’s very dangerous because they can create dangerous counter-attacks and we handled it quite well.”
With four goals in four games, the Dhaka striker has certainly taken his chance to feature in the last few games, an opportunity Maresco believes he deserved as he waited patiently in the opening months of the season.
The City manager explained: “At this moment in time, a player who has been playing for City has come into the squad: “He has certainly earned it, because he has been out of action for three or four months and he has continued to work hard and is doing very well.”
The Foxes now have a six-point advantage over Ipswich and the chance to extend the margin to nine should they beat the Tractor Boys on Boxing Day at Portman Road. The match will kick off at 19:45 CET on Tuesday evening.
“It’s always good to win,” added the Italian. “For me, to be honest, I said before the game that between tonight and Tuesday’s game, it’s much more important to win today and then now we are preparing for Tuesday.
“We just made a few changes, as we always try to do, and nothing more than that.”