Harry Maguire scored for Leicester City as they beat Cambridge United 3-0 at the Abbey Stadium in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday.
The defender, who is currently the subject of speculation linking him with Manchester United, opened the scoring in the 59th minute with a thunderous header. The Foxes were dominant throughout the game but were made to wait for the win as late goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and Hamza Choudhury wrapped another pre-season success.
Story of the Match
Numerous Leicester chances
Brendan Rodgers' troops controlled the opening stages. The first real opportunity of the match fell to summer signing Youri Tielemans' as he was teed up by Jamie Vardy and sent a swerving effort towards goal. Dimitar Mitov produced a good save to tip the ball around the post though.
The Bulgarian then produced two more fantastic stops to deny Vardy, as Leicester begun to dominate their hosts.
Ricardo Pereira was then the next to go extremely close as he was also set up by Tielemans. The Portuguese right-back stormed into the Cambridge box and had his first effort smothered by Mitov. The ball came back to Pereira and he attempted a cheeky back-heel that bounced off the post and was eventually blasted over the crossbar.
Opportunities continues to come for the Foxes
Leicester cruised throughout the first-half but the only thing missing was a goal. Marc Albrighton and Tielemans each had efforts from distance saved, with Pereira again going close before the break.
The Premier League outfit resumed pretty much as they left off after the break. Substitute Harvey Barnes was unfortunate to not open the scoring as he saw his effort deflected over the goalkeeper, with a defender somehow getting back to clear off of the line.
Maguire bags opener with thunderous header
They were not made to wait much longer though as the Foxes finally claimed the lead. A corner was cleared onto the edge of the Cambridge box and fell to Ben Chilwell. The left-back crossed the ball in to England team mate Maguire and he leapt above George Taft to plant a firm header into the net.
Fellow substitute Iheanacho could have doubled the lead as he picked off a loose pass but he could not convert from a tight angle. Barnes then missed another glorious chance as he put a one-on-one straight Mitov before blazing the ricochet high over the crossbar.
Foxes turn on style
With Cambridge tiring, Leicester's top-flight class began to shine through and they eventually got their second. Barnes' pinpoint cross picked out Iheanacho and the Nigerian finally got his goal as he headed into the far corner.
The Foxes even had time to add a third as Choudhury robbed the ball in the Cambridge penalty area and steered the ball low into the far corner to secure another pre-season victory for the Premier League outfit.
Takeaways
Wasteful Leicester
Whilst the performance was a positive, one aspect that will irk Leicester boss Rodgers is the wastefulness in his team. The Foxes created a bucketload of chances but were only able to convert their considerable chances towards the end. Barnes, Gray and Pereira all wasted fantastic opportunities at the Abbey Stadium.
They will surely have to find more of a killer touch before they kick-off their Premier League campaign.
Mitov the man for Cambridge
Having said that, the hosts were indebted to one particular man for the one goal deficit and that was stopper Mitov. The Bulgarian produced a catalogue of brilliant saves for the hosts; denying the likes of Vardy, Pereira and Tielemans. He will be hoping to continue his good form heading into the new season.
Maguire still a Leicester player - for now...
With all of the reports surrounding Harry Maguire and a potential move to Manchester United, the central defender reminded everyone that he was still firmly one of the Foxes' best performers. The former Hull City man was majestic at the back, as is to be expected. He also proved to be the match-winner with a fantastic, trademark header - a goal that Leicester fans particularly enjoyed.