James Maddison Leicester City
Leicester City have been learning to “ride the storm” and it will be key to them picking more away wins in the future, star midfielder James Maddison believes. City finally earned a victory on the road at the weekend as they thrashed Wolves 4-0. Brendan Rodgers’ side had started the game with the worst away record in the country, having lost every single match, most of them heavily. Scoring had not been an issue – City now have the best away attack in the division – but keeping them out had been. But while they conceded 21 shots at Molineux, they were formidable in protecting their own net. Asked to put his finger on City’s away form,
James Maddison said: “It’s definitely not been a lack of scoring. We scored two at Tottenham and two at Arsenal. It’s just been shutting up shop, and in times of adversity, being strong. In the Premier League, it sounds like a cliché, there are so many good teams, so no game is easy, so you are going to come under pressure no matter who you play. It’s about staying strong in those times and coming out the other side of it, almost like riding the storm. We did that brilliantly. That’s what it takes: bodies on the line, you need your keeper to make big saves, you need defenders to make blocks and you need your attacking players to score good goals. It all came together and it was a really nice feeling inside the dressing room.”
City are now out of the relegation zone for the first time since mid-August. Maddison hopes the outlook continues to change for the better.
James Maddison added: “People talk about the table because we were bottom going into the game. I know it’s hard not to look at the table, but it’s a long season, there’s a lot of football to be played. We’ve had a slow start, especially away from home. But we’re picking up clean sheets and convincing wins now, and we know things can change for us. Things change very quickly in football. We get back-to-back wins and if we win again, and you’re looking at the table differently, and we’re going into the World Cup in mid-table.”
