Leicester boss Enzo Maresca insisted there must be no let-up from his side after a 2-1 win at QPR maintained their commanding lead at the top of the Sky Bet Championship.
The Foxes are five points clear of second-placed Ipswich and 14 clear of Leeds, seemingly on course for an immediate return to the top flight in Maresca’s first season at the helm.
The Italian coach, though, warned against any sense of complacency.
“We have just one problem: we are still in October. I would like to still be in the same position in February, March and April,” he said.
“You can lose a game for many reasons, but for sure you can lose a game if you have a drop in intensity. We know that because we always mention that.
“If you come here, against this team, after their five (defeats) in a row, and you drop a little bit in terms of intensity, then they will beat us for sure.
“As long as we remain with the same intensity then we can win more games than we lose.
“But the players deserve it. The way they work on the ball and off the ball, they make an unbelievable effort. They are open-minded and fantastic.”
After Stephy Mavididi opened the scoring on the half-hour, Andre Dozzell equalised shortly before the interval – but the midfielder was dismissed early in the second half for two quick cautions following a foul and his reaction.
Rangers, who have lost six matches in a row and remain one off the bottom of the table, battled hard.
Leicester, though, made their numerical advantage count with 10 minutes left when Harry Winks rifled in a right-footed strike for his first goal since moving from Tottenham.
QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth bemoaned his side’s “naivety” after they had a man sent off for the second successive match.
Abdul Fatawu reacted angrily to a challenge from Dozzell, who raised a hand towards the Leicester winger and was shown a first yellow card for the foul followed swiftly by another for the retaliation.
It came after Jimmy Dunne was dismissed during the midweek defeat at West Brom, also for picking up two yellow cards in quick succession.
“Naivety has cost us again. It’s cost us over the past two games,” Ainsworth said.
“Out of the four bookings that have cost us two red cards, I think there’s only one legitimate foul in there and the rest has been just stupidity.
“Andre has reacted just as Fatawu wanted him to. The referee has no choice but to give a second yellow.
“We had a plan put in place that I think was working, but again you need 11 men, especially against the top-of-the-league team.
“I thought there were some superb performances for us. There wasn’t much in the game at all until Andre falls for the trick of gamesmanship from Fatawu.
“Andre has to learn from that. It was always going to be tough after that. It still took a world-class goal to beat us.”
Rangers’ spirited performance perhaps eased the pressure on Ainsworth, who remains convinced they will avoid relegation.
However, a defeat away to fellow strugglers Rotherham next weekend would put further focus on his future.
“I am proud of that performance. I can hold my head up high and say we gave absolutely everything,” Ainsworth said.
“As long as that keeps happening we’ll amass enough points to stay in this division.”
[(FC Seoul) Strength]: 1. Marko Dugandzic, Anderson de Oliveira, and Yazan Al-Arab all contributed in the last friendly against Barcelona. The team's foreign players performed well on offense.2. FC Seoul won 1-0 over Daejeon Hana Citizen in the last league game, securing 3 wins in the last 4 league matches.[(FC Seoul) Neutral]: 1. FC Seoul had BTTS in 2 of the previous 3 games, showing a high like...
[(Los Angeles Galaxy) Strength]: 1. Los Angeles Galaxy currently rank 8th in Group B of the Leagues Cup. Facing Santos Laguna who are bottom 3rd in Group A, Los Angeles Galaxy are aiming for three points and are highly motivated.2. Los Angeles Galaxy forward Gabriel Chaves has scored 4 goals in the last 3 games, demonstrating a very high goal-scoring efficiency.3. Los Angeles Galaxy have remained ...
[(Cruz Azul) Strength]: 1. Cruz Azul's attacking methods are diverse and plentiful, including intricate passing from the midfield, crosses from flank breakthroughs, and long-range shots.[(Cruz Azul) Neutral]: 1. Both sides have never met before, so there were no records to reference.[(Cruz Azul) Weakness]: 1. Cruz Azul are 14th in the Leagues Cup Group Stable- Liga MX table. They were winless in t...
[(Estudiantes La Plata) Strength]: 1. Estudiantes La Plata beat Racing Club de Avellaneda in the last game, securing a 2-game winning streak in the league and showing a rebound in form.2. Estudiantes La Plata conceded 3 goals in the last 5 home games, boasting excellent defense at home.3. Estudiantes La Plata received 6 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses in the last 10 home games, with a win rate of 60%....
[(Monterrey) Strength]: 1. Monterrey scored 7 goals in the previous 4 competitive games, averaging nearly 2 goals per game, which demonstrates outstanding attack.[(Monterrey) Weakness]: 1. Monterrey performed poorly in this edition of the Leagues Cup and have confirmed to miss the knockout stage. Thus, their motivation is in doubt.2. Monterrey were winless in two Leagues Cup games with only 1 draw...
[(FC Cincinnati) Strength]: 1. FC Cincinnati are ranked 2nd in the MLS Eastern Conference, showing outstanding overall form. They received 15 wins, 4 draws, and 6 losses in the regular season so far, with a win rate of 60%.2. FC Cincinnati were unbeaten in two Leagues Cup games so far, recording 1 win and 1 draw.3. FC Cincinnati showed excellent attack in the previous two Leagues Cup games, scorin...
[(Servette) Strength]: 1. Servette were narrowly defeated 3-2 on aggregate in two legs of the second qualifying round of this season's Champions League, and now they will unfortunately have to play in the Europa League qualification. This match will be the first leg of the third qualifying round at home, and they are highly motivated.2. Servette forward Slovakian Samuel Mraz is in fit form this se...
[(FC Bayern Munich) Strength]: 1. As the Bundesliga giants, FC Bayern Munich still aim to win the titles across all competitions this season. As a preseason warm-up tournament, FC Bayern Munich will adjust their form and fine-tune their squad in the Germany Telekom Cup. They are highly motivated to secure a big win to build confidence for the new season.2. In the summer window, FC Bayern Munich si...
[(Zrinjski Mostar) Strength]: 1. Zrinjski Mostar are undoubtedly motivated to win this home game to take the initiative of advancing.2. The Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which Zrinjski Mostar play, has not yet started, giving them more time to prepare for their European football matches.3. Zrinjski Mostar won 14 of the previous 20 home games across all competitions, showing decent h...
[(Panathinaikos) Strength]: 1. Panathinaikos are still in the league offseason and only focus on the Cup, revealing superior fitness.2. Panathinaikos performed impressively at home as they lost only one of the last 19 home matches.[(Panathinaikos) Neutral]: 1. As the traditional giants in the Super League Greece, Panathinaikos currently have a total squad value of over 100 million Euros.2. In Pana...
- 1 Bayern Munich confirm Palhinha "transfer negotiations" as Spurs move closer
- 2 PSG Willing to Sell Lucas Beraldo – But Only If Two Demands Are Met Amid Premier League Interest
- 3 TIPS - Real Salt Lake VS Atletico San Luis
- 4 TIPS - FCSB VS KF Drita Gjilan
- 5 Daily Laugh - Raya nair
- 6 TIPS - Lincoln Red Imps VS FC Noah
- 7 TIPS - Rigas Futbola Skola VS KuPS
- 8 Man Utd, Newcastle turn to Stuttgart striker Woltemade
- 9 TIPS - FC Kairat Almaty VS SK Slovan Bratislava
- 10 Transfer rumors, news: Chelsea face dilemma over Simons