Foxes confident but not complacent – James Maddison lauds ‘brilliant’ away form
James Maddison has attributed high-flying Leicester’s astonishing away record to a healthy blend of belief and not getting complacent.
The Foxes secured their seventh Premier League away win in nine attempts so far this season at Newcastle on Sunday, three points which saw them climb into third place in the table.
In total, they have collected a remarkable 22 points from a possible 27 on the road – only Liverpool have beaten them while a much-changed side drew at Crystal Palace last Monday – 12 more than they have managed in eight outings at the King Power Stadium.
Speaking after the 2-1 win at St James’ Park, Maddison told LCFC TV: “I think our record away from home is brilliant, and it was no different.
“You come up against teams like Newcastle and we want to be winning those games.
“We’re going into the game as a big team and a team that knows that we should win, but also, at the same time, you can’t have that complacency, because that’s when you start to get bad results.”
It was Maddison who belatedly set the ball rolling for the Foxes on Tyneside after a relatively nondescript first half.
The midfielder was perfectly placed to slam the ball past helpless keeper Karl Darlow after Harvey Barnes had broken 10 minutes after the restart and picked out Jamie Vardy’s run.
Vardy cut inside before picking out Maddison on the edge of the box, and his finish was unerring.
The goalscorer said: “Jamie Vardy doesn’t actually get the credit he deserves for the amount of assists he gets. He gets a lot of assists and because he scores so many goals, it kind of goes under the radar.
I can’t remember it too well, but I’m pretty sure Vards got in behind the left side and I was running in the box, but I was almost getting blocked by the defenders, the line of view to the pass.
“I kind of just stood still and hung out on the edge of the box, and Vards noticed my movement, and pulled it back brilliantly.
“He had that vision and then it was just a case of – that was when it felt like time stood still a bit, when it was rolling towards me – staying composed and getting a good contact on the ball and firing it in the net.
“Those types of finishes are what we practise in training, so when you see one come off, it’s always nice.”
City doubled their advantage with 18 minutes remaining when Youri Tielemans dispatched an equally emphatic first-time shot beyond Darlow from Marc Albrighton’s square ball and although Magpies substitute Andy Carroll pulled one back, the points were safe.
Maddison said: “It probably wasn’t the best game for a neutral in the first half, I’d say, but we had to show patience, a bit of quality when the chances came and then resilience at the end, which we’ve shown this season.”
