Before kick-off the words “semper eadem”, the Latin motto on the Leicester coat of arms, were unfurled on a giant banner across the bottom of the South Stand. Always the same? Until Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall headed in an equaliser with 77 minutes on the clock it seemed the start of a new campaign, a new era under Enzo Maresca, would begin in dispiriting fashion as the game developed an all too familiar feel. But maybe this season, back in the Championship after nine years in the Premier League, will be different after all.
Leicester trailed to a header by the Coventry captain, Kyle McFadzean, and in truth the game should have been beyond them. Even a minute before Dewsbury-Hall completed a comeback victory with an emphatic finish into the top corner, Coventry rattled the crossbar. Haji Wright, the USA forward who last week became Coventry’s £7.7m record signing, saw his shot deflected on to the woodwork by Mads Hermansen, one of four Leicester players to make their debut. Matt Godden, who also had a half-volley held by Hermansen, skewed the rebound wide.
It was another cruel crescendo for Coventry, playoff finalists in May, and on this evidence they look capable of competing at the top once more. Afterwards Maresca singled out Gustavo Hamer as probably the best player in the division, moments after the Coventry manager, Mark Robins, insisted Dewsbury-Hall will dazzle on the second-tier stage this season. Robins said he spied “a lot of Man City” in Leicester’s movement, particularly their rotations in midfield, no surprise given Maresca spent last season on Pep Guardiola’s staff as Manchester City won the treble.
Dewsbury-Hall beat the otherwise impressive Bobby Thomas to a Dennis Praet cross to head in his first goal and his second was sumptuous. He played a give-and-go with the winger Stephy Mavididi, who tucked the ball through the legs of Ben Sheaf, and upon receiving the ball back Dewsbury-Hall swung a left-foot shot into the top corner. In doing so Dewsbury-Hall, one of few Leicester players to exit the top flight with any credit, has already equalled his goals tally from last season.
“At the beginning when I checked the numbers of the players, I told him he has better quality to score more and make more assists,” Maresca said. “The only way to do it is to arrive more in the box.”
Dewsbury-Hall was one of only two survivors from the Leicester starting lineup on the final day of last season. The other, the unmistakable Wout Faes, marshalled a new-look defence featuring Hermansen, who Maresca said was his No 1 target this summer. Jannik Vestergaard made his first league start for 18 months alongside Faes and Callum Doyle, the Manchester City loanee who was part of the Coventry team that made it to Wembley in May. Jamie Vardy captained Leicester but was subdued and replaced by Kelechi Iheanacho on 75 minutes, part of a substitutes bench that cost more than £110m. “Someone just said to me they had £100m on the bench … which is nice,” Robins said, smiling.
Leicester looked ponderous at times and Maresca acknowledged supporters will have to be patient given his desire to play a possession-heavy style. “They [fans] want us to go quick but going quick doesn’t mean you attack better,” he said. “Our idea is not to go slow but when you’re 1-0 down and the opponent is there waiting it is normal there is no space so you slow down to attract them and create space. We need them to understand that our idea is this.”
Coventry are organised but easy on the eye, even without last season’s top scorer Viktor Gyökeres, who departed for Sporting Lisbon last month. Hamer, Coventry’s jewel in the crown, made the King Power Stadium his playground before departing with a calf niggle as part of a triple substitution that Robins recognised hampered their shape and loosened their grip on the game.
“There was a lot of good things in there,” said Robins, who wants to add to his nine summer signings. “You can see from the game that they are going to be good.”
Still, the manager stewed on the edge of his technical area as the final whistle sounded. He will wonder how Coventry somehow failed to build on McFadzean’s header. Ellis Simms, a marquee signing from Everton, appeared rusty and missed a golden chance after the break. Kasey Palmer had a shot deflected wide by Harry Winks, one of the new Leicester arrivals.
Hermansen saved superbly after Palmer threaded Godden through on goal. Wright, who was given international clearance to play less than two hours before kick-off, was also lively. But Dewsbury-Hall’s header handed Leicester a lifeline and 10 minutes later he sealed an unlikely turnaround.
