by The only shock at Leicester’s King Power Stadium was that Blackburn Rovers didn’t score more goals.
Under the shrewd management of former Denmark international Jon Dahl Tomasson, Blackburn are building real momentum and have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2015 after taking full advantage of Leicester’s torrid performance.
Winners of the competition two years ago, Leicester were poor and often dismantled by the Championship side, with Brendan Rodgers and his players subjected to ridicule at the end of both halves.
To top off a miserable night for Leicester, they are also set to be without Youri Tielemans for up to six weeks after the midfielder damaged ankle ligaments in last Saturday’s home defeat to Arsenal.
That outstanding display extended Blackburn’s unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions and the traveling fans were clamoring for trips to Wembley long before the final whistle.
Fourth in the Championship, Blackburn have produced some exciting attacking football this season under Tomasson, who was appointed in June last year, and this was another result to boost his reputation.
The excellent Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics were the scorers, but it is no exaggeration to say that Blackburn could have scored at least four.
Without the rested James Maddison, this Leicester squad looks to be nearing the end of a natural cycle and is in dire need of a summer rebuild.
With eight players leaving at the end of their contracts, Rodgers will finally get the ‘shake-up’ he has been seeking, although he continues to come under scrutiny from some supporters.
Rodgers celebrated his fourth anniversary in charge on Sunday and it was real behind the sofa for long periods. At times, they were defensively a shambles.
Although Blackburn keeper Ainsley Pearce pulled off a fine double save from Tete and Dennis Praet early in the match, the visitors always looked dangerous.
Their best player in the first half was Dolan, who was a constant threat with his pace and direct running down the right wing.
Dolan had already been denied by Leicester goalkeeper Daniel Iversen before giving Blackburn the lead in the 33rd minute with a shot from outside the area after capitalizing on Daniel Amartey’s poor pass.
Blackburn extended their lead seven minutes into the second half. It was abysmal defending from Leicester again as they inexplicably allowed Szmodics to squeeze into the area and slide a shot past Iversen.
The visitors had more chances to score as Leicester’s backline continued to crackle under pressure, but the home side finally responded with 22 minutes to go.
Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho gave them hope with a close-range finish from Harvey Barnes’ cross.
Iheanacho sparked at least an improvement from Leicester and Amartey nodded against the post in stoppage time, but they could not force the game into penalties.
With promotion to the Premier League still in Blackburn’s sights, there could be a memorable end to this campaign.
(tags For Translation) Blackburn Rovers FC
