Leicester City fans will be heading into the second international break in a much more positive mood after Steve Cooper oversaw a first Premier League win of the season against AFC Bournemouth.
The 1-0 win courtesy of Facundo Buonanotte’s strike takes Leicester City to six points after seven league matches and into 15th in the table.
Steve Cooper will have breathed a huge sigh of relief at the full-time whistle of the win over Bournemouth as he relieved some of the growing pressure on his position with three points.
The next three games represent a real opportunity for Leicester to build on this win as they face Southampton, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town in the first three Premier League matches after the international break.
What will be pleasing for Cooper is not just the win but the fact his Leicester players dug deep to also secure a first league clean sheet of the campaign.
Facundo Buonanotte and Wout Faes praised by Alan Shearer
The performance against Bournemouth showed the same fight that saw Leicester come agonisingly close to taking a point off of Arsenal a week earlier.
Cooper did not see his players’ efforts rewarded that game as Arsenal scored twice in second-half stoppage time to steal all three points.
Against Bournemouth, Leicester got the result their performance deserved though, and Alan Shearer named goalscorer Buonanotte in his Premier League Team of the Week, commenting: “The Foxes needed something special to secure their victory and it came thanks to Buonanotte’s emphatic finish.”
However, Shearer reserved the most praise for centre-back Wout Faes, naming him in the side and saying: “An assured display and probably his best for the club as Leicester earned their first win of the campaign.”
Shearer names Leicester City boss Steve Cooper Manager of the Week
Faes marshalled the Leicester backline expertly to help see out the 1-0 win and really proved his worth alongside Caleb Okoli at the heart of the defence.
The back four has been very settled since the third Premier League game of the season and Cooper deserves credit for identifying his chosen back four and sticking with it.
Shearer also named Cooper as the best manager of the week for masterminding the win over Bournemouth, saying: “Will be relieved to have finally tasted victory for the first time as Leicester manager. It could be a huge moment in their season.”
Leicester will hope this win will act as a springboard for their season and should now be very much looking forward to a trip to St Mary’s next time out.
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