Leicester City made it back-to-back Premier League victories as they blew away Brighton and Hove Albion with a stunning first-half show at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.

James Maddison scored twice in a scintillating opening period for the Foxes, one a low effort and the other a fantastic curling shot from the edge of the penalty area. His two goals also sandwiched a Jamie Vardy strike who latched onto a wonderful ball from James Justin to remain in the hunt for the Premier League golden boot.

Brighton could simply not find a foothold throughout and following another defeat remain 16th in the table, whilst Leicester rise to third.

Story of the Match

Maddison lands first blow

Both goalkeepers were busy in the early portion of the game, with the match itself beginning at a frantic pace. First, Mathew Ryan denied Marc Albrighton after he was rolled through by Maddison, before Kasper Schmeichel then produced solid stops to keep Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Danny Welbeck out, the latter being a wonderful opportunity one-on-one.

Chances continued to come as the half wore on. Justin's excellent through-ball picked out Vardy but just as it looked like the striker was going to add to his goal haul, Ben White stuck out a boot to block. He then went even closer by latching onto a ricochet from James Justin's original shot but slammed his effort off of the upright from a tight angle.

A goal looked sure to arrive soon and it duly did through Maddison. Justin, who was a huge threat down the right flank throughout the first half, produced a great low cross. White managed to clear but only towards Maddison, whose shot squirmed through the grasp of Ryan and into the back of the net.

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Foxes savage Seagulls before the break

The Foxes looked confident following their opener and almost doubled their lead. Another great cut-back from Justin located the advancing Ayoze Perez but his low drive for the bottom corner was excellently tipped away by the Brighton stopper.

Brighton simply could not halt the Leicester waves of attacks though and soon found themselves 2-0 down. Justin again found acres down the right, rolled the ball across to Vardy, who had the easy job of tapping into the unguarded net.

If this were a boxing match, the referee would surely have called it at the 45-minute mark as the hosts added a third. Much unlike his opener, Maddison this time produced a wonderful strike. Faced up with the Brighton defence, the midfielder produced a couple of stepovers, cut inside and then curled a sumptuous left-footed effort into the far corner.

Leicester claim comfortable win

As a result of their stunning first-half show, it was understandable that Leicester were not quite as convincing after the break, with the only highlights being a booming strike from Christian Fuchs that could have added gloss to an already insurmountable scoreline. 

In the end though, three was enough for the Foxes on an extremely satisfying evening for Brendan Rodgers and his men.

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Takeaways

Justin the marauding full-back

So far in his time at Leicester, James Justin has not quite been able to display to attacking talents that he showed so often with former employers Luton Town. That could not have been more different against Brighton. The England U21 international was effectively playing as a winger at the King Power Stadium, proving pivotal going forwards. 

His excellent crosses into the Brighton penalty area caused havoc every time and the Seagulls just did not know quite how to cope with him.

Maddison back to his best

In a year that has been hugely frustrating for James Maddison with a number of injuries, he finally looks back to his best. The England man showed his trademark swagger and creativity throughout the evening, topping it off with an absolutely brilliant goal. If he can continue this level of performance then there is no reason as to why he cannot be the driving force behind another assault on the UEFA Champions League places.

Familiar story for Brighton

Brighton boss Graham Potter must be supremely frustrated with his attacking options for their finishing throughout the season. The Seagulls regularly create a hatful of chances but simply cannot put them away. It was the same at the King Power Stadium on Sunday with early chances spurned. Should any of those found their way into the back of the net, it might well have been a very different game. 

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