(Football news) Nottingham Forest replaced Leicester City at the bottom of the Premier League table after Brendan Rodgers’ side defeated the visitors 4-0 at the King Power Stadium. Two goals in the first half by James Maddison on either side of a goal by Harvey Barnes gave the home crowd much to celebrate in what has been an absolutely disastrous season for the Foxes so far. If that wasn’t all, Patson Daka came from the bench and scored the fourth goal with a deft flick in the 73rd minute. Both teams headed into this fixture with tremendous pressure to get the result, but it was Leicester City who prevailed, their superior quality being evident from the get go as Nottingham Forest succumbed to their fifth consecutive defeat.

Brendan Rogers made one change from the Leicester City team that lost to Tottenham Hotspur 6-2 with Jamie Vardy replacing Patson Daka in the starting lineup. As for Leicester City, Steve Cooper made three changes with Willy Boly, Ryan Yates and Remo Freuler being replaced by Jesse Lingard, Cheikhou Kouyate and Lewis O'Brien in the starting lineup. The atmosphere ahead of the match was tense as both teams are in the relegation zone and a draw or loss for either side would further darken the mood prevalent amongst both sets of supporters. Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha was in attendance at the stadium, using the programme notes to rally the home support, viewing this fixture as an opportunity to start afresh.

Speaking after the match, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers said “It has been too long to be honest. We should have won before now and we have had some tough games. But I thought we were excellent tonight with our intensity in the game and our pressing. There was pressure on us, especially after the last time we played Forest. It is a great night for the players and it is brilliant for the supporters. I said beforehand that it was a season-changing game if we could get a result here and push on. I thought they were excellent. We have got some technically gifted players and guys who are tactically very good but you cannot win matches without a desire and a mentality to defend. This season, that had not been there consistently but tonight we did that. We kept our first clean sheet which is very important." 

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper said “We are going through difficult moments you normally look at in pre-season and we are having to go through that process in the most difficult league in the world. It's tough at the moment, I won't shy away from that. I'll believe in them until the end. I refuse to be really critical of them in the dressing room because this is such a tough challenge with a new group. We are finding out about that in the toughest league in the world. I will never say they are not good enough as that will have a negative effect. But at same time we need to be much better. 

“This is a fresh challenge for us. Some of the guys have only met each other these last couple of weeks. That's the realism of the situation and something we have to deal with. At the moment we are getting punished because of periods in games where we are not a team and key moments as well. I completely understand the situation and the question and respect it 100 per cent. But my concern is we have lost another game for this club, not my own situation because I care more about the club more than my personal circumstances. I refuse to criticise the players as a group as it is a fresh challenge."

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