Harvey Barnes’ screamer gives Leicester their first win of the season as they see off spirited Sheffield United

https://youtu.be/74PryGLViLw

 

Gareth Southgate was here to watch James Maddison and, while he would have left impressed with the Leicester forward, team-mate Harvey Barnes has perhaps also smashed his way into the thoughts of the England manager.

The midfielder, who has four Under-21s caps, had only been on the field for six minutes when the chance presented itself to take aim from the edge of the area.

A less daring soul may have taken a touch as the ball dropped from the sky, but not Barnes, the 21-year-old connecting with such venom that goalkeeper Dean Henderson had barely moved by the time the volley hit the net. Only Jofra Archer can claim to have dispatched a ball at greater speed in the county of Yorkshire this week.

The 70th-minute strike was enough to record Leicester’s first victory of the season but lifted them into third in the Premier League.

And there is a lot to like about Brendan Rodgers’ side, not least a front three of Maddison, Ayoze Perez and Jamie Vardy, who lashed the opener back in his hometown.

Southgate can no longer call on Vardy, of course, but Maddison is certain to be in his squad for next month’s Euro qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo. He could even make his full debut on this evidence.

But as good as Maddison was, he could not compete with Barnes when it came to stealing the headlines.

‘It was a brilliant goal,’ said Rodgers. ‘He’s a big talent and is going to be a very important player for us. To come on and be able to do that so soon, with such technique, is great.

‘He’s a young player and knows where he is at. But yes, he is pushing to start now. This was really special for him.’

Maddison, too, did himself no harm in front of Southgate. It was from his exquisite throughball – measured with the outside of his right boot – that Vardy rifled home on 38 minutes. Perez, it should be noted, had robbed the ball from defender Chris Basham at the onset of the move.

‘We always looked a threat,’ added Rodgers. ‘Not too many players can make the pass James did for that goal. His touch and throughball was just sensational. Jamie didn’t even need to take a touch, it was right into his path and it was a wonderful finish.

‘James is playing at a really high level for this early in the season and Gareth will be looking at him for sure.’

While Leicester’s win was deserved, Chris Wilder’s newly-promoted Blades showed enough spirit and organisation to suggest they might just be okay this season and £20million summer signing Oli McBurnie rose to head level just after the hour.

The game was only four minutes old when we got our first sight of United’s overlapping centre-backs, Jack O’Connell vacating his defensive post to charge down the left wing. It looked unnatural – O’Connell is a thickset 6ft 3in – but there is clearly method in the apparent madness.

Indeed, it was from one such venture that O’Connell delivered with real purpose and George Baldock slammed a volley down the throat of Kasper Schmeichel.

And the hosts were enjoying their best spell of the half when Leicester took the lead on 38 minutes. Vardy had earlier glanced wide when mis-timing his header from Youri Tielemans’ centre and the home crowd duly goaded the Sheffield-born striker.

But it was Vardy, a Wednesday fan, who was soon teasing the home masses when he swept first-time into the roof of the net after scampering onto Maddison’s expert pass.

Leicester’s front three combined again shortly after the restart when Maddison fed Vardy who cushioned a header into the path of Perez. The angle was against the Spaniard, arriving at the far post, and he could only hook back across the face of goal. Still, it was another warning of how dangerous they could be.

Wilder responded by changing his front two, the ineffective Irish pairing of David McGoldrick and Callum Robinson hooked with Billy Sharp and McBurnie introduced.

And it looked like the move might salvage a point when McBurnie rose to direct Baldock’s whipped delivery into the bottom corner.

Barnes, though, had other ideas, and he may just have planted one in the mind of Southgate in the process.

 

source:dailymail