Leicester earned their first win of the season with Nigeria’s Wilfred Ndidi starting at the base of the midfield as they hammered Nottingham Forest to dump their local rivals on the bottom of the Premier League and pile the pressure on manager Steve Cooper.
James Maddison scored two excellent goals and created another for substitute Patson Daka, while Harvey Barnes curling home a superb effort as Brendan Rodgers’ side recorded their biggest home win since December.
It was a big enough night for Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha to fly in from Thailand to watch the team his family bankrolled to their memorable Premier League title in 2016 but cut spending on this summer, something he described as a “difficult short-term decision”.
Leicester’s opening goal required a couple of bits of fortune through Jesse Lingard’s mis-control and Scott McKenna’s deflection but the efforts that followed were moments of unquestioned quality, with Daka’s flick from Maddison’s cross to round off the scoring 17 minutes from time particularly impressive.
Rodgers certainly enjoyed them as he hugged his coaching staff, the joy at gaining that precious win obvious.
On the other hand, it was a torrid night for Nottingham Forest and Taiwo Awoniyi in particular who struck the post when clean through on the home goal shortly before the team conceded two quick fire goals.
For Forest, this first top flight East Midlands derby since 1999 was a night to forget.
The Forest fans bellowed their support for Cooper as they sang songs of defiance with the game gone and their team slipping to a fifth straight defeat in a single season for the first time since January 2004.
In the end it was a fulfilling night for the Foxes as they look kick start their season from then onwards after their disastrous start.