Leicester City vs Plymouth Argyle. Sky Bet Championship.
The King Power StadiumAttendance31,265.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Leicester City and Plymouth Argyle at the King Power Stadium on Saturday | Stephy Mavididi scores twice, Patson Daka and Wilfried Ndidi also net in Foxes win.
Saturday 9 December 2023 19:01, UK
Stephy Mavididi scored twice as Leicester cruised to a comfortable 4-0 win at home to Plymouth to remain top of the Championship table.
Mavididi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 14 minutes before the Foxes scored three goals in a scintillating seven-minute spell after the break to take the game out of Argyle's reach.
Patson Daka doubled Leicester's lead with a cool finish after 49 minutes before Mavididi drilled home his second of the game just three minutes later.
Nigeria international Wilfred Ndidi completed the scoring in the 55th minute, finishing in off a post from Daka's pass to ensure the Foxes remain one point clear at the top of the table.
Plymouth in contrast are winless in 10 league games on the road this season.
The game burst into life when Mavididi went to ground in the box under a challenge from Julio Pleguezuelo before stepping up to roll the resulting penalty into the bottom left corner.
Enzo Maresca's side spurned a glorious chance to double their lead four minutes later as Ndidi shot straight at Argyle goalkeeper Michael Cooper when one on one after being played through by Harry Winks' delightful pass.
Moments later Daka, making his first league start of the season, somehow failed to score from point-blank range at the back post before Abdul Fatawu's curling shot went inches wide.
Plymouth's best chance of the game fell to Mustupha Bundu just past the half-hour mark as Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen made a crucial save to deny the Argyle attacker when one on one.
Leicester wasted another chance to stretch their lead before the break with Ndidi just unable to reach a ball across the box with the goal at his mercy following a blistering counter-attack.
The visitors almost drew level in first-half injury time as Hermansen kept out Callum Wright's low shot with his legs.
However, the home side eventually doubled their lead four minutes into the second half as Daka opened his Championship account for the season with a cool finish into the bottom left corner from Fatawu's flick.
The home side struck again as Mavididi showed excellent feet before drilling a low effort past Cooper from inside the area to all but end the game as a contest.
And Leicester made it four after 55 minutes as Ndidi passed the ball in off the left-hand post from a tight angle from Daka's pass after Hamza Choudhury won possession deep in the Plymouth half.
The Foxes had chances to further add to their lead as Cooper made an excellent save to keep out Jannik Vestergaard's header at the back post from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's cross.
Argyle never gave up and went close to a consolation goal when substitute Luke Cundle fired straight at Hermansen when well-placed in the box.
Leicester's Enzo Maresca:
"It was a very good performance, we completely deserved the three points, we controlled the game really well.
"We are trying to improve the way we play. We know we have the best defence and we have scored the second most goals in the league.
"Wilf has improved a lot. In terms of physicality you expect everything, you don't expect quality (in the final third), but since day one I can see there is something there.
"I'm happy because when you see a player making the effort to understand how they have to play it's good and he deserves it."
Plymouth's Steven Schumacher:
"We're disappointed with the result. I was really pleased with a lot of aspects, the performance, effort and commitment was outstanding.
"We should have been level at half-time. In the second half we've been undone by one moment of quality and a couple of mistakes.
"As long as the players keep putting the effort in, which I know they are and our fans can see that they are, then we'll be fine."
