Morgan on mark again as Leicester see off Bournemouth
Wes Morgan marked his return to the team with another goal as Leicester continued their solid start under Brendan Rodgers with a 2-0 victory against Bournemouth at King Power Stadium.
Morgan proved an able deputy against Burnley two weeks ago following Harry Maguire’s fourth-minute red card at Turf Moor, where the veteran defender scored the Foxes’ late winner in a 2-1 victory.
With Maguire suspended, the 35-year-old started on Saturday and he picked up where he left off prior to the international break by getting on the scoresheet again after 11 minutes.
Jamie Vardy added a second goal late on to give Rodgers a third win in his four matches as manager, it also ensured Leicester won three successive Premier League fixtures for the first time since May 2017.
Rodgers, who left Celtic to succeed Claude Puel just over a month ago, has enjoyed an encouraging start to life at the King Power Stadium and the Foxes are now level with Wolves on 44 points.
Consistency in selection is something that has underpinned Rodgers’ success so far and recalling Morgan was his only change to the team.
The captain scored for the second game running when James Maddison floated his cross from a corner to the edge of the penalty area for Ben Chilwell. The full-back took a touch to get the ball under control before shooting goalwards, where Morgan instinctively flicked out a leg to divert the shot past a wrong-footed Asmir Begovic.
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Bournemouth should have scored a quick equaliser but Callum Wilson was denied as Kasper Schmeichel made a block right on his goal-line.
Maddison was prominent in the match and his curling effort had Begovic scrambling across his goal but the ball sailed just wide.
Vardy uncharacteristically snatched at a chance and skewed his shot wide before Maddison brought a good save from Begovic after winning the ball back from Nathan Ake in a dangerous position.
The 61st minute was an emotional moment inside the stadium as Leicester fans united to applaud the memory of their former chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who would have celebrated his 61st birthday in the coming days.
Khun Vichai died, along with four others, in a helicopter crash just outside the King Power Stadium in October.
Vardy almost made amends for his earlier miss with a smart shot on the turn but Begovic was equal to it. The former England striker did get his goal with eight minutes remaining, beating Begovic to Youri Tielemans’ cross to head the ball into an empty net and seal the win.
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