Leicester City 3-1 Hull City
- Published
- comments
Leicester City came from behind to beat Hull City as Foxes caretaker boss Craig Shakespeare gained his second win from his two games in charge.
The 2015-16 champions went behind when Sam Clucas, who began his career at Leicester, scored from close range from Kamil Grosicki's pull-back.
But Christian Fuchs equalised after good work down the left wing from Jamie Vardy.
Last season's PFA Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez scored his first league goal since November, a low 18-yard strike, before Tom Huddlestone headed into his own net to seal a deserved victory for Leicester and Shakespeare.
Shakespeare's perfect job interview continues
Craig Shakespeare is set to hold talks with the club's board next week to discuss whether he should get the manager's job on a full-time basis after the club sacked title-winner Claudio Ranieri last month.
And it was another perfect job interview from Shakespeare as he has returned Leicester to playing in a way similar to last season.
They have gone back to basics with a 4-4-2 formation and Jamie Vardy, who was outstanding throughout, given service and able to run on to passes and terrorise the defence with his pace. Mahrez was also given a free role and licence to drop deep and influence the game in a way that led to his 18-goal tally last season.
Ranieri will question whether his players stopped playing for him, as this win, with the same group of players, followed a similar 3-1 victory against Liverpool on Monday.
Nevertheless, the result eases the Foxes relegation fears - taking them five points above the relegation zone.
The only surprise was that Hull took the lead against the run of play after Leicester had wasted three early chances to score.
But the Foxes were only behind for 13 minutes when Fuchs finished with a shot from eight yards out after Vardy's pace had created the opportunity down the left flank.
Mahrez jinked to create space on the edge of the penalty area to give Leicester the lead, although Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic will be unhappy at being beaten at his near post with the low strike.
Leicester's third goal was more fortunate, with the ball inadvertently bouncing off Hull captain Tom Huddlestone after Wilfred Ndidi flicked on a corner.
Missed chance haunts Hull
Hull City manager Marco Silva had no complaints about the result, calling it "fair", but he and the club's supporters will rue a missed chance to go ahead early in the second half when the game was level at 1-1.
Centre-half Harry Maguire, tipped for an England call-up by Silva, flicked an effort at goal, and with Foxes goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel beaten, the ball rebounded off the post.
Silva has been in charge of Hull since January and, despite winning eight points from his seven Premier League games, has never seen his side out of the relegation zone.
They are now four points behind 17th-placed Crystal Palace and face a must-win game next time out when they entertain fellow strugglers Swansea City.
Man of the match - Jamie Vardy (Leicester)
Shakespeare v Ranieri - the match stats
Leicester have scored twice as many Premier League goals in their two games under Craig Shakespeare (six) as they did in their last 10 matches under Claudio Ranieri (three).
Shakespeare has also collected as many wins in his first two matches as Ranieri mustered in his last 16 league games (two).
This was Leicester's first win after conceding the first goal in a Premier League game since October 2015 when they beat West Brom.
Sam Clucas netted his first ever Premier League goal in his 26th appearance.
Clucas' goal was Hull's first shot on target - they also scored with their first shot on target in their last Premier League game against Burnley.
Riyad Mahrez has scored in four of his five appearances against Hull in all competitions (four goals).
Mahrez scored his first Premier League goal from open play since April 2016 against Swansea, ending a run of 27 games without one.
No team has scored more own goals than Hull (four) in the Premier League this season.
'It is the Mahrez of old' - what they said
Leicester caretaker boss Craig Shakespeare: "We spoke to the players before the game, they showed resilience and character. It was against the run of play to go 1-0 down, but to bounce back showed the resilience in our side.
"Riyad Mahrez has been frustrated with himself. We told him to go out there and be himself. It is the Mahrez of old with the goal he scored.
"Results give players confidence. Back-to-back wins will give confidence for the last 11 games of the season.
"In terms of our points, it has been a turnaround. Everyone looked at the game against Liverpool on Monday and to get the three points under pressure was important but to back that up with another win was vitally important.
On whether he will get the job full-time, Shakespeare replied: "I am comfortable. We have a few days away now. I have been kept informed. I am told we will have a chat at the end of next week.
"We know the last 11 games will have twist and turns. We need to take care of ourselves."
Hull City boss Marco Silva: "It is good when you play well and are close to the result, but most importantly we need to take points.
"We were better in the first half and scored from a counter-attack. They had a good reaction, but after half-time, the score was fair.
"We had two good chances in the second half, but they ended up scoring two. We did not put the ball into the net.
"The numbers are not good for us, that is clear. We need to fight but when you have chances to score, that is what makes the difference.
"We need to always fight, but we can rest and analyse the game now. We have to prepare for the next game against Swansea."
What next?
Leicester are set to go on a four-day trip to Dubai as they are not in action next weekend. Their next action comes in the Champions League on Tuesday, 14 March. They play Sevilla at home in the second leg of their last-16 tie, with the Spanish side leading 2-1 after the first leg.
Hull have a Premier League game at home to Swansea on Saturday, 11 March, in a game that could be vital for their hopes of staying in the top flight.
- Published27 February 2017
- Published1 March 2017
- Published3 March 2017