LEICESTER City manager Enzo Maresca was very pleased with the effort of his players, including Wilfred Ndidi, after their 3-2 Championship victory over Birmingham City last night.
Super Eagles midfielder Ndidi was in the heart of the Leicester City side as they withstood a late rally from the home side coached by former England and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney.
With now recovered Nigeria forward Kelechi Iheanacho on the bench, Stephy Mavididi opened the scoring for Leicester City early on, before Jordan James levelled for the hosts.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall put the visitors in the lead against and Mavididi completed his brace but James’ second of the night made it a nervy finish at St. Andrew’s Stadium.
Leicester stood firm, however, to record their 18th Championship victory and extend the lead at the top of the table to three points.
“Like every game, it was very difficult,” Maresca said in his post-match interview.
“Especially in the first 15-20 minutes, we struggled a little bit but then it was much better. Overall, I think we deserved to win completely, 100 per cent.
“We created chances, we missed and when you don’t take the chances, it’s always difficult. In the end we had some complicated minutes. You cannot be disappointed because you know the opponent are also there to win the game so it’s normal.
“We could score more goals for sure, but at the end they don’t want to miss, they want to score. Sometimes it happens. After we conceded the second goal, I really like the way the team behaved altogether, defending, trying to get the three points which in this moment is very important.”
Leicester City, who are seeking a quick return to the English Premier League, next play Rotherham United at King Power Stadium this weekend.
“Now we have almost finished the first half of the season,” the 43-year-old Maresca noted. “We have one more game and it’s important to win games. We need to win again (on Saturday) and we’re going to try and refresh the team if we can and go again for the three points.
“We as a club, as a team are happy, they (the supporters) are happy. Especially after relegation they completely deserve this. They have to understand that this is not easy because when you are relegated, the year after is not easy. It’s a new journey, a new project, but we are going in the right way.”
