Blackburn Rovers, in Enzo Maresca’s opinion, are the best opponent Leicester City has had this year.
At Ewood Park, the Foxes defeated the Rovers 4-1, with two late goals enhancing the final score. While Leicester were rightfully the winners, the match was far closer than the three-goal margin of victory suggested.
Up until the 80th minute, Rovers had managed to keep Leicester at bay, but when Kelechi Inheanacho scored Rovers’ third goal from the penalty spot, the game was finished. Jon Dahl Tomasson said the 4-1 scoreline failed to accurately reflect how the game played out and that the referee’s severe decision was made.
Maresca, who acknowledged he was ‘worried’ about Rovers before the game, shares that opinion. He believed that their victory over the most challenging opponent they had ever faced was their greatest of the year.
Since we began, it was our most significant victory, Maresca told Leicestershire Live. “Because of the opponent, I was a little concerned. They are excellent. They are the greatest team we have played in terms of their style of play.
They are a challenging foe. The full-backs are on the outside, sometimes inside, while the wingers alternate between those positions. Because of their constant movement, it is challenging to establish a gameplan off the ball that follows your desire to press.
It was our best victory thus far since I was a little concerned. Off the ball, we improved significantly during the past 30 minutes. We faltered during the opening ten minutes of the second half before picking ourselves up and continuing the game as we had planned.
“On the ball, we had some excellent moments, but I think the goal we let up hurt our confidence a little bit. We lost confidence when we gave up a goal in that manner. We must continue to learn and grow.
Maresca is not the first manager to praise Tomasson’s team in their post-game evaluation. Despite Rovers’ current losing streak, Tony Mowbray and Kieran McKenna have both made similar statements.
Plymouth Argyle fans were particularly complimentary of Rovers’ style despite a 3-0 win at Home Park before the international break too. Of course, it means very little without a result for Rovers.
