MX23RW : Sunday, November 24 11:05:08| >> :120:51505:51505:

Live Commentary: Swansea City 2-0 Leicester City - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's live commentary of Swansea City's 2-0 win over Leicester City at The Liberty Stadium.
2

Wilfried Bony struck twice to give Swansea City a 2-0 victory over Leicester City at The Liberty Stadium tonight.

First, Bony benefitted from some unselfish play from Gylfi Sigurdsson to thrash home past Kasper Schmeichel in what proved a superb team goal on 34 minutes.

The Ivorian then completed his brace shortly before the hour mark, tapping a Jefferson Montero pass into an empty net to seal the Swans' first win in five games.

Below, you can relive all of the drama in South Wales with Sports Mole's live commentary.


Sort:
Newest
Oldest
Anyway, that is all we've got time for here my friends. Thank you for joining me and I hope you've enjoyed Sports Mole's live commentary and I'll see you next time. Enjoy your night.

Well, that's all she wrote. Swansea end a five-game winless streak as two goals from Wilfried Bony gives them a much-needed win. Fair play to them.

Full time: Swansea City 2-0 Leicester City

Chance! Oh my word it should be 2-1. Fabianski pulls off a blinding save to deny Andy King's header, but Cambiasso, from point-blank range, hits the post and then Fabianski beats him to the rebound! Unbeliveable.

Three minutes added on:

Shelvey concedes a needless free kick just near the corner flag as Mahrez prepares to swing a cross in, but there's too much pushing and shoving in the box and Leicester actually concede a foul after the ball is swung in. Nightmare.

Around five minutes left and, yep, you guessed, Leicester still aren't closer to scoring. It's been a performance to forget.

Substitution: Double sub for Swansea now as Nathan Dyer replaces Routledge, while two-goal Wilfried Bony makes way for Bafetimbi Gomis. Good applause for both, especially Bony.

Leicester with plenty of possession, as they have done for most of the half, but it's like Groundhog Day in their final third. Did they score five goals against Manchester United?

Chance! Forget that about Swansea happy to hold the two-goal lead. They go close to another as Bony plays in Shelvey, who looks for Routledge in the middle but his ball is slightly over-hit.

Swansea look more than happy to hold on to this lead. There's not much attacking intent from then now - perhaps due to Sigurdsson's absence. Leicester badly need a goal but it's not looking good for them.

Shot! It's Mahrez again who is single-handedly leading the Foxes' comeback bid, but he is denied by Fabianski this time. I could be wrong but I think Mahrez has had all of Leicester's shots in this game? Moore had a wayward header.

Will those subs inspire Leicester then? They definitely need inspiration but are they the answer? We shall see.

Substitution: There's a trio of Leicester subs to tell you about now as Jamie Vardy, Dean Hammond and Danny Drinkwater make way for Matty James, Esteban Cambiasso and Andy King. When was the last time you saw three simultaneous subs in a competitive match?

Close! This is so close from Mahrez, who lines up a shot from outside the box and it just whistles wide of the mark. Fabianski was beaten. That's as close as Leicester have come.

Off the bar! Take a bow Jonjo Shelvey for what was an outstanding effort. The midfielder collects a ball from Carroll before taking aim from around 25 yards and crashes a fine shot against the crossbar. Schmeichel had no chance.

Shot! Good possession football from Leicester and Liam Moore heads the final result straight into Fabianski's arms.

Substitution: Sigurdsson, who was nursing a slight knock prior to that second goal, has been replaced with Tom Carroll and deservedly leaves the field to a standing applause.

And it's two! Great from Gylfi Sigurdsson again as the Icelandic plays in Jefferson Montero, who taps back to the unmarked Bony to tap home from close range. Leicester's improvement in this half has now effectively gone to waste!

Goal!!!!Swansea 2-0 Leicester (Bony)

Shot! Swansea register their first shot at goal and it's Bony again, who capitalises on an error from Drinkwater and drives forward but flashes a left-footed shot well wide.

Who does Ulloa look like? He's the spitting image of somebody that I can't place. Anyway, Leicester have improved in this half but more of the same from him on an individual level, still not really in the game.

There was a good counter attack on there for Swansea and Sigurdsson, completely free in the middle of the pitch, looked to set Montero through down the wing, but he had ran centrally instead and the attack petered out.

Shot! And they register their first shot of the game. Mahrez latched on to a hospital ball from Angel Rangel before driving forward and taking aim from outside the box, but his shot flew well over over the bar.

Off the bar! Something for Swansea to think about perhaps as Leicester hit the bar. It stemmed from a long throw into the Swans box that was not dealt with, and Shelvey got the slightest of touches as it bounced up over Fabianski and came off the crossbar. They've started this half well, Leicester.

And it comes to nothing as Fabianski comes to parry away a cross that was going wide. Why? I don't know.

Early set-piece opportunity for the visitors now after Angel Rangel fouled Mahrez, who will swing in a cross here.

Restart: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're off again. Leicester, playing from left to right, get us back underway in South Wales. Big 45 minutes for them.

Incidentally, that was Sigurdsson's seventh assist of the season. What a good buy he is proving.

Hello again. We're minutes away from the restart at The Liberty Stadium, where Swansea should, I say should, hold on to their lead.

Anyway, put the kettle on and meet me back here in a few minutes for the second half. See you then.

Still, this should most definitely be one of the games where they score first and win. They look dangerous enough on the wings but the lack of final ball might be worrying. There's plenty of service there for Bony if both Montero and Routledge find their, eh, passing boots in the final third.

Leicester? Well, they've been quite poor. They never looked like scoring in that half. Before we write off Nigel Pearson's side, though, chew on this my friends: Swansea have only won three of the six Premier League games that they have taken the lead in. So, as we discussed earlier, there's only a 50% chance that they'll hold out for the points! Ominous, eh?

It was an excellent goal that gave Swansea the lead, it really was. Lovely little flick from Bony to send Sigurdsson through on goal but, instead of shooting himself, cut back for the Ivorian on the edge of the box and he did the rest. Thoroughly deserved, too.

Half time: Swansea 1-0 Leicester That's all she wrote in this half, my friends. Decent from Swansea, woeful from Leicester so far, who are yet to have a shot I think.

Two minutes left until the break and Swansea looking very comfortable so far. Leicester will get a chance eventually, but will they take it? That's the question.

Richie de Laet will sleep well tonight if Montero plays the 90 minutes. Every time the winger gets the ball he's running at his Dutch counterpart, making him run. He's probably done the equivalent of a 10k already.

Swansea might have been in again then had Neil Taylor found Jefferson Montero earlier, but he dithered in possession and Drinkwater did well to get back.

Good pressing from Leicester to box Swansea into their own half but they haven't done that enough.

This is a stunning goal. Bony releases Sigurdsson with a delightful flick before continuing his run, and Sigurdsson cuts back to him on the edge of the box and the out-of-form striker smashes past Schmeichel for the first goal. Fantastic play from the Ivorian, and excellent, unselfish play from his Icelandic counterpart, too.

Goal!!!!!! Swansea 1-0 Leicester (Bony)

Absolutely nothing as Swansea comfortably avert the danger through Routledge. They haven't been great, Leicester.

Good attacking by Jamie Vardy who gallops past Ki from the halfway line and wins his side a corner. It's their first corner so let's see what they can do with it...

Swansea back on top now but the final ball is still lacking a little. Garry Monk, who is very well dressed again by the way, is barking orders on the touchline.

Teasing cross from Mahrez but nobody in blue was on hand to nod it home and the ball curls out for a goal kick. It's actually the closest Leicester come to finding the net, and it wasn't even that close. Says it all.

Welcome to the game Mr Montero. The winger has suddenly sprung to life with two excellent runs in the last few moments, but the final ball was lacking on both occasions. Very promising.

Sung-Yeung Ki looks in a bit of discomfort after a heavy fall a moment ago. He's rubbing his shoulder but he's playing on for know.

Chance! Schmeichel is so, so lucky here. The Dane makes an absolute hash of a routine clearance, giving it straight to Sigurdsson, who hesitated slightly and Morgan got back just in time to save his keeper. Swansea fans want a penalty but looked legitimate. He's now giving thumbs up to Morgan and mouthing "I know".

Thumping challenge from Wes Morgan on Bony there. I've never been tackled by Morgan, but it must be similar to be hit by a Hummer. He's that big. Swansea make no use of the free kick, however.

Shot! 16 minutes in and we've had our first shot. Good work from Sigurdsson on the edge of the box to cut back to Bony, who tried to bend it around Schmeichel but the Dane held it comfortably. Sigurdsson is key to anything Swansea create here.

Dean Hammond is perhaps a touch lucky to stay on the field after appearing to elbow Sigurdsson in an aerial challenge. Had Mike Jones seen it he'd have had a big decision to make.

Leicester enjoying a spell of possession now but it comes to an end when Konchesky looks to play in Vardy and Fabianski comes to collect.

Jefferson Montero is enduring a tricky first Premier League start here and looks to be second best to Richie de Laet so far. He's another lightning-quick winger that Leicester might be worried about.

Nice intention by Jonjo Shelvey, who plays an excellent over-the-top ball to allow Routledge race away from Konchesky but it's slightly over-hit and Schmeichel collects. Routledge surely has the beating of Konchesky pace-wise, though, so that might be a prosperous avenue for Swansea to explore.

Swansea easily the better side so far but no chances to speak of as yet. Early impressions are that Ulloa is coming a little deeper than usual to get involved in the game a bit more. As we spoke about, he's been isolated in the last few games so might be a smart move by Nigel Pearson.

Good defensive work from Jamie Vardy, who slides across to stop Routledge's cross. Swans have a corner now though, and it's met by Wilfried Bony but he heads wide. It was a poor enough effort, to be fair.

Swansea swing in their first cross, and it stemmed straight from a Paul Konchesky error (nobody has ever said that before). He passed it straight to Wilfried Bony, who got down the left and swung in a decent ball but it was too high for Jefferon Montero. Decent enough tempo so far.

Kickoff! Right, Swansea get us underway in South Wales. They're playing from right to left in this half. Let's goooooooo!

Right, three minutes until kickoff! The players are ready. Are you? I am. I fancy a good game here.

Anyways, let's dive into a prediction now, shall we? I'm going for a Swansea win. I've watched Leicester in two of their last three games - both defeats - and they were very, very poor. I'm sure the Swans have been poor, too, having not won since August, but I think they have the better players neccesary to pull them out of this funk they find themselves in. Score? Let's go 3-1. I've only ever got one of these correct so don't go rushing to the bookies!

Listen - football would be far more entertaining if the managers said what they really felt in their post-match interviews, but holding their tongue is par for the course. Monk only has 22 matches under his belt and is by far the most inexperienced manager in the Premier League, so it might have been a bit of naivety on his part. He might have gone up a notch in the eyes of many for his stand on simulation, but perhaps that blunt honesty is something better kept for the dressing room in the future.

It would be just a little funny if one of the Leicester players dives to win a decisive penalty today. Hey, I'm all for fair play, but seeing Monk explode with anger might just be worth it. Monk launched a scathing attack on Victor Moses after the winger won a penalty in very controversial circumstances for Stoke last weekend, labelling the Chelsea loanee a "cheat" and he may yet find himself with a ban or a fine for his post-match comments.

Incidentally, there is extra pressure on Jones to ensure that fair play is upheld today - and this is because he risks incurring the wrath of Garry Monk at full-time!

Referee Mike Jones and his assistants are just measuring both goals now! Why? We don't really know. Both teams have misfiring strikers in their ranks as we've discussed, so perhaps the two managers decided to extend the measurements a little to help them find their way again? Plausible, I think.

Fortunately for Swansea, they have not been too reliant on Bony - unlike Ulloa and Leiecester - because they have been scoring goals. It is at the other end of the field where serious questions lie. The Swans have taken the lead in six of their eight Premier League games so far but have only gone on to win half of those. Along with Hull, they have lost the most amount of points from winning positions. It must be torture for Monk knowing that even if his side take a one-goal lead then there's a 50% chance they will surrender it!

The Ivorian scored a very decent 24 goals in his debut season, but he has struggled to scale those heights this time around. One of his two strikes so far has been from the penalty spot, too. Surely we will see a watershed moment in his 2014-15 campaign, a turning point where he reminds us what he is capable of? Maybe it's today.

With just two goals in eight games, it is safe to say that we might have a suspected case of secondseasonitis on our hands, ladies and gentlemen. It doesn't quite require the hazmat suits, but you wouldn't want to put, say, Diego Costa - or me, I've got a big astro match on Monday - in the same room as him incase his profligacy is contagious.

What's more worrying for Pearson is the fact that no other Leicester player has scored more than one goal in the Premier League so far. Yep, they're not flush with goalscoring options folks so it looks like, for the moment at least, that there is big pressure on Ulloa to hit form again. From one goal-shy striker to another now and let's have a look at Wilfried Bony.

One of the big factors in his early-season form was the element of surprise, but that's long gone now; he is no longer under the radar and opposition managers go to extra lengths to combat his threat - and it's working. I watched Leicester in their defeats to Palace and Newcastle, and in both games the Argentine did not look like scoring at any point. Has he been found out?

What do we make of Ulloa so far then? Obviously a big factor in Leicester's early season form after five goals in as many games, but they look to have dried up after not scoring in his last three. In fact, his barren spell coincides with Leicester's winless streak. That's worrying, isn't it; it suggests that if he isn't firing on all cylinders then the team will struggle.His recent goalscoring woes are understandable, though.

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that second-choice keeper Ben Hamer is not on the bench, and that is because he dislocated his finger in training yesterday. He is replaced by 22-year-old keeper Adam Smith.

On to Leicester now and I can tell you that, as expected, Leonardo Ulloa spearheads the forward line. He's supported by David Nugent, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez. Hammond and Drinkwater line up in midfield, in front of the same back four that lost to Newcastle last week - Richie de Laet, Wes Morgan, Liam Moore and Paul Konchesky. No Esteban Cambiasso in the first XI today, but he is on the bench. FOUR changes in all for Leicester. No messing from Nigel Pearson.

Elsewhere, Wilfried Bony continues up front, with Gylfi Sigurdsson supporting the lone striker. Sung-Yeung Ki also starts in midfield alongside Shelvey, while Angel Rangel, Federico Fernandez, Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor make up the defence ahead of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. And that's it from a Swansea perspective!

Okay let's start with Swansea and a bit of good news for the hosts is that Jonjo Shelvey returns to the fold after serving a one-match suspension against Stoke last time out. Shelvey lines up at the expense of Tom Carroll in one of two changes by Monk, with Jefferson Montero earning his first Premier League start to displace Nathan Dyer on the wing.

Leicester subs: Smith, James, King, Schlupp, Cambiasso, Wasilewski, Wood

Swansea subs: Tremmel, Bartley, Shephard, Carroll, Dyer, Emnes, Gomis

Leicester City XI: Schmeichel; De Laet, Konchesky, Drinkwater, Morgan; Hammond, Vardy, Moore, Mahrez, Nugent, Ulloa

Swansea City XI: Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Ki, Shelvey, Sigurdsson, Routledge, Montero; Bony

Right, the team news is slowly but surely filtering through and we'll have this for you very shortly indeed. In the mean time, take a look at what the boys at Sports Mole HQ make of this one and I'll see you in a few!


The honeymoon period has been over for a number of weeks now, though. Defeats to Crystal Palace and Newcastle, either side of a home draw with Burnley, have put a major downer on their early-season heroics and Pearson will be bitterly disappointed with those matches. Welcome to the Premier League, lads.

Maybe the visit of newly-promoted Leicester will help kick-start their season again, however. Nigel Pearson's side have also been in the wars result-wise lately and are on a three-game barren streak since that remarkable 5-3 win over Manchester United. They won eight points from their first five games after drawing with Everton and Arsenal, before beating Stoke and United.

We will start by looking at Swansea and after winning their first three games of the season - including a 2-1 win away to Manchester United - Garry Monk's side have found themselves without a victory in five outings, with their last success coming back in August! It's relegation form for the Swans, and Monk needs to pull his troops out of this funk that they find themselves in.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and thanks for joining our live text commentary of Swansea City's Premier League clash with Leicester City at the Liberty Stadium. Both teams come into this one on the back of some fairly forgettable form and the pair will be desperate to get back to winning ways after excellent starts to their respective campaigns.

ID:184530: cacheID:184530:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:34157:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Swansea manager Garry Monk prior to kick-off against Chelsea in the Premier League match on April 13, 2014
Read Next:
Preview: Swansea vs. Leicester
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Vikings
@
Bears
6pm
Lions
@
Colts
6pm
Patriots
@
Dolphins
6pm
Buccaneers
@
Giants
6pm
Chiefs
@
Panthers
6pm
Titans
@
Texans
6pm
Cowboys
@
Washington
9.05pm
Broncos
@
Raiders
9.25pm
49ers
@
Packers
9.25pm
Cardinals
@
Seahawks
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Crystal Palace121561017-78
19Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!