Leicester City vs Cardiff City. Sky Bet Championship.
The King Power StadiumAttendance31,595.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Leicester City and Cardiff City at the King Power Stadium as Cesare Casadei scored a stoppage-time winner for the Foxes on Saturday.
Saturday 19 August 2023 19:01, UK
Debutant Cesare Casadei came off the bench to score the late goal that secured Leicester a 2-1 win at home to Cardiff in the Sky Bet Championship.
That enabled the Foxes to celebrate four straight wins at the start of a season mfor the first time in the club's history.
A fine strike from Aaron Ramsey looked like earning Cardiff a point after Wanya mMarcal-Madivadua had fired Enzo Maresca's hosts ahead.
But on-loan Chelsea midfielder Casadei had the last word to leave Cardiff, who saw defender Mahlon Romeo sent off deep into stoppage time, remain winless under their new manager Erol Bulut.
Foxes forward Stephy Mavididi earned an early booking for a mistimed challenge on Josh Bowler but it was not long before Leicester came close to taking the lead.
Kelechi Iheanacho curled a shot from the edge of the area beyond goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, who was relieved to see it bounce back off his right-hand post.
Ike Ugbo, set up by Ramsey, replied with a Cardiff header that cleared the crossbar but the next chance was Leicester's, with Jamilu Collins's intervention taking the sting off Mavididi's shot.
Iheanacho was next to see a shot partially blocked, again to Alnwick's relief as the ball dropped past his other post this time.
Referee Graham Scott denied the hosts a penalty on the half-hour mark when Romeo, having seen the ball pushed past him, shoulder-charged Mavididi.
A goal was coming and Marcal-Madivadua supplied it in sensational style in the 36th minute by lashing a high-velocity effort from 15 yards through a crowd of players after Cardiff had failed to clear a corner. It was a first senior goal for the 20-year-old from Portugal.
Alnwick had to make saves from Mavididi and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall soon after and those proved crucial as, out of nowhere, Ramsey launched a stoppage-time long-ranger into the top corner to level.
Ramsey was denied a second early in the second-half by a block by Jannik Vestergaard after Yakou Meite, on for Ugbo, had played him in. Mads Hermansen then saved from Joe Ralls in the aftermath.
That roused Leicester and Alnwick had to make a good save to deny Callum Doyle, who went close with a deflected effort soon after.
Ramsey fired at Hermansen after the hour mark, however, before Cardiff substitute Karlan Grant found the side netting. Meite, sent through by Romeo, then sent a great chance to win it wide with nine minutes remaining.
Casadei made Cardiff pay in stoppage time with a winner. The substitute lashed home in the box after Dewsbury-Hall's shot had been blocked by Jack Simpson and rebounded to Jamie Vardy.
Vardy went down seemingly fouled but referee Scott played on to allow the Italian to have the final word.
Scott then showed a second yellow to Romeo for barging Dewsbury-Hall over off the ball.
Leicester's Enzo Maresca:
"I said to Cesare the only way to score a goal for an attacking midfielder is to be inside the box.
"Everything in football happens inside the box. Ramsey scored from 40 metres but this is Ramsey, it doesn't happen often. Cesare, one of his strengths is to arrive in the box.
"It is important always to win a game and in this moment especially for the fans and the club after last year.
"It is important to renew new energy but also I analyse not only the results. It was important to see how the team improves game after game.
"Probably for me it was our best half. We created many chances, we scored a goal and after that Stephy (Mavididi) had a chance one-on-one with the keeper and after that there was a clear penalty for Stephy. After that we conceded just one shot, a goal from Ramsey that was unbelievable and we started the second half still thinking about the goal.
"In this moment we cannot think the team over 90 or 105 minutes is also playing like the first half."
Cardiff's Erol Bulut:
"What I have to say, and I have said it also before in Leeds, where we were leading at 90-plus, that football is details. With details you win, with details you lose.
"The second half from my team was great. How many chances to you need to create against Leicester to win the game? Today we could have made it 2-1 and maybe 3-1. We should have won the game but in the end we didn't manage to score and we lost unluckily.
"These are the things we have to manage better. When we have the chances we have to take them."
