Leicester City began their 2025 FA Cup campaign on Saturday afternoon against Queens Park Rangers.
It’s been a torrid start to the 2024/25 season for Leicester City on both the cup and league front.
After losing to Aston Villa last time out, the Foxes remain 19th in the Premier League table and well off the pace required to earn the magic 40 points.
They are also out of the Carabao Cup following a 5-2 hammering at the hands of Manchester United, who Ruud van Nistelrooy was managing at the time.
But Saturday’s game represented a good chance to pick up a victory and give the Leicester players a much-needed confidence boost.
Leicester took the lead after eight minutes when a free-kick was stabbed in by James Justin.
However, QPR responded 10 minutes later with Jonathan Varane scoring a sensational goal.
The Foxes reclaimed their lead shortly before the break when Stephy Mavididi tackled the ball from a QPR defender to find Bilal El Khannouss, who slipped in the former to finish well.
Leicester doubled their advantage in the 37th minute and El Khannouss was involved yet again, dinking a lovely cross onto Facundo Buonanotte’s head.
QPR would not lay down, however, adding a second right before half-time thanks to another horror pass from Harry Winks.
Mavididi then won Leicester a penalty in the 48th minute, which Jamie Vardy scored to restore the two-goal lead before Justin added his second to kill the game off and Wout Faes scored the sixth in injury time.
Here’s how the Leicester players rated –
Jakub Stolarczyk – 6
Made a huge save to deny QPR’s Ilias Chair in the 16th minute but could do nothing to stop a thunderous strike from Jonathan Varane a few minutes later.
James Justin – 8
Good run into the six-yard box to stab in the opener from a Leicester free-kick. Scored his second goal in the 62nd minute.
Wout Faes – 7
A largely mistake-free 90 minutes from the stopper who scored a wonderful goal to make it 6-2.
Conor Coady – 5
Looked shaky at times when trying to pass the ball out, playing Leicester into trouble on a couple of occasions.
Victor Kristiansen – 6
A quiet showing from the left-back who didn’t really get tested throughout his time on the pitch.
Boubakary Soumare – 6
Made a few tackles but he misplaced some passes and didn’t offer much cover for his back four.
Harry Winks – 3
Absolute hospital pass in the 18th minute that led to QPR making it 1-1 and another awful backpass right before the break which led to the home side’s second goal.
Facundo Buonanotte – 8
Got the assist for the opener. Was slightly overshadowed on the day by El Khannouss but made some bright runs and clever passes, rounding out his solid performance by scoring Leicester’s third of the day.
Bilal El Khannouss – 9
Assisted Mavididi for Leicester’s second of the day before getting his second just a few minutes later with a perfectly weighted pass onto Buonanotte’s head.
Stephy Mavididi – 8
Another excellent showing from the winger. Pressed the QPR backline well and was rewarded for his hard work with a goal in the first half. Also won the penalty to make it 4-2.
Jamie Vardy – 7
A quiet showing from the Foxes’ top scorer this season but linked up well with his fellow attackers and made smart runs to drag defenders out of position to create space. Took his penalty well early in the second half.
Substitutes
Oliver Skipp – 5
Did very little when he came on but QPR had seemingly already run out of steam at that stage.
Jordan Ayew – 5
Made some good runs forward but nothing amazing of note.
Patson Daka – 5
Failed to test to QPR goalkeeper after replacing Jamie Vardy.
Kasey McAteer – 5
Was a good chance to get some minutes under his belt on his return from injury.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid – N/A
Had very little time to make an impact.