Leicester City continued their perfect start to the Premier League season by winning a 4-2 thriller against Burnley at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
Chris Wood and Harvey Barnes exchanged strikes within the opening 20 minutes of the match before Erik Pieters unfortunately put through his own net shortly after the break. The hosts then put themselves firmly in control through James Justin's close range effort.
A special moment from Jimmy Dunne on his Premier League debut saw him restore faith for the visitors with just over 15 minutes remaining with a great header. The scoring was rounded off though by Dennis Praet and it was arguably the best goal of the game, with the Belgian netting a stunning drive from outside of the area to make it back-to-back Premier League wins for Leicester for the first time since January.
Story of the Match
Early goals in the East Midlands
Predictably, it did not take too long for the net to be found and it was the away side who managed to hit the front initially. Charlie Taylor produced a great cross towards the back post, with Wood outmuscling James Justin before driving a great drive into the bottom corner.
Leicester responded very well to going behind though and found their equaliser mid-way through the first-half. Great work from Jamie Vardy saw him tear into the Burnley box and spin away from the Clarets' backline. He then rolled the ball to Timothy Castagne who in turn coolly teed up Barnes for a cool finish low into the bottom corner.
The hosts could even have edged ahead before the break as Nick Pope produced an excellent stop to halt Barnes' shot that looked destined for the bottom corner.
Leicester put on second-half show
Just like in the first period, the net was bulged only minutes after the restart through an own goal from Burnley man Pieters, although huge praise had to go to Youri Tielemans. An absolutely brilliant pass from the young Belgian picked out compatriot Castagne racing down the right flank. With Pieters sticking out a toe to block the former Atalanta man's cross, he unwittingly diverted the ball past Pope and into the net.
It always felt like there was more to come from both teams as Wood just failed to get enough power on his drive to beat Kasper Schmeichel before Praet lifted the ball over the bar from the ever-threatening Castagne.
Another goal did eventually come, with Leicester extending their advantage even further. Ayoze Perez did excellently to dribble into the Burnley box and then attempted to pull the ball back. Following a couple of deflections off of Burnley bodies, it fell to Justin who easily converted for his first ever Leicester goal.
Burnley find a foothold but Praet smashes home
Just as Brendan Rodgers' men were beginning to look comfortable, the Clarets managed to find a route back into the match. A deep free-kick evaded the whole Leicester defence, with Dunne the man to get his head to the ball and nod it into the back of the net.
That encouragement was smashed quite literally to smitherenes late on, with Praet putting an absolutely exquisite rubber stamp on the victory. The midfielder picked up the ball on the edge of the area, took one touch to come inside and then unleashed a stunning drive right into the top corner to cap a great performance for the hosts.
Takeaways
New handball law benefits Burnley
Should this game had be played last season then it is almost certain that Chris Wood's goal would have been ruled out for handball, with the Kiwi forward having controlled the ball with his upper arm. However, with the new law deciding that anything above the t-shirt line was legal, then the goal stood despite appeals from some of the Leicester players.
Wonderful start to life at Leicester for Castagne
Following his goal-scoring debut at West Bromwich Albion, Leicester supporters were left purring with the acquisition of Timothy Castagne. They will be even happier following his latest display. The Belgian full-back was a constant threat down the right, playing instrumental roles in Leicester's first and second goals. Should he continue that level of performance throughout the rest of the campaign, he will surely go down as one of the signings of the season.
The Premier League goalfest continues
This season was really going to be like no other but most will not have expected this many goals this early in the campaign. So far this season, there has been 60 goals in just 16 matches at an average of 3.75 per game. Whether that is down to a real lack of pre-season for the sides, leading to looser defending or the shackles being taken off remains to be seen. Should the goals continue to come though, supporters will not be complaining.