Facundo Buonanotte grabbed his first goal at the King Power Stadium as Leicester City beat Bournemouth 1-0 to secure their first Premier League win of the campaign on Saturday afternoon.
Having clinched the Championship title to confirm their return to the Premier League, Steve Cooper's were one of five sides yet to taste victory in the league, losing three and picking up three draws from their opening six matches.
Leicester entered the weekend off the back of a heart-wrenching 4-2 defeat against Arsenal on September 28, when, with a heroic display from goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, they fought back from two goals down to level the tie before conceding twice in stoppage time.
Bournemouth, on the other hand, picked up their first home win of the Premier League campaign last time out when they eased past Southampton 3-1 thanks to first-half goals from Evanilson, Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semeyo.
With the Cherries going within inches of opening the scoring in the sixth minute, when Stefano Senesi drove his header narrowly wide of the post, the excellent Buonanotte put Leicester in front 10 minutes later, with the Brighton and Hove Albion loanee firing past Kepa Arrizabalaga after a brilliant skill to beat his marker.
While the Foxes were slightly dominant in the first half, seeing 54% of the ball possession, there was not much going for them in front of goal after Buonanotte's strike as they went into the break with an xG of 0.5, just above the visitors' 0.42.
However, Bournemouth upped the ante in the second half, with Illia Zabarnyi's 50th-minute header crashing against the post before Lewis Cook's free-kick goal was ruled out for offside after Evanilson was adjudged to have been interfering with play.
Andoni Iraola's men were denied by the crossbar once again when Ouattara failed to steer his header on target after rising highest to connect with Luis Sinisterra's cross in the 72nd minute before Leicester held on in the final stages to see out their first league win of the campaign.
LEICESTER CITY VS. BOURNEMOUTH HIGHLIGHTS
Facundo Buonanotte goal vs. Bournemouth (16th min, Leicester City 1-0 Bournemouth)
A fine combination play between James Justin and Buonanotte on the right flank saw Justin set the latter free to run into the Bournemouth box, where he evaded Senesi with dazzling footwork before smashing home his first goal at the Kings Power Stadium.
MAN OF THE MATCH - FACUNDO BUONANOTTE
© Imago
It was a solid afternoon for the Brighton loanee, who finally opened his account in front of the Leicester fans in the 16th minute to inspire the Foxes to their first Premier League win of the campaign.
Along with his goal, Buonanotte completed 100% of his dribble attempts and created a glorious chance for Jaime Vardy in the first half, while winning seven of his 13 ground duels in a solid shift.
LEICESTER CITY VS. BOURNEMOUTH MATCH STATS
Possession: Leicester City 44%-56% Bournemouth
Shots: Leicester City 6-17 Bournemouth
Shots on target: Leicester City 2-2 Bournemouth
Corners: Leicester City 0-9 Bournemouth
Fouls: Leicester City 12-14 Bournemouth
BEST STATS
🦊𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞 got his second goal in a City shirt this afternoon.
— BBC Sport Leicester (@BBCRLSport) October 5, 2024
The Brighton loanee has impressed since moving to the East Midlands in the summer.
Former Leicester City Caretaker manager 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 was impressed with his effort and... pic.twitter.com/9n1mv8vLP1
WHAT NEXT?
Leicester City relieve the pressure on head coach Cooper as they finally get up and running in the Premier League to move from the bottom three and into 15th-place in the table.
Bournemouth, who will be scratching their heads as to how they have not come away with at least a point, have now lost three of their most recent four league outings — conceding five goals and falling to find the back of the net across the three games — with a 3-1 home win over Southampton on September 30 being the exception.
Leicester will look to build on this result when they visit the St. Mary's to face Southampton after the international break on October 19 while Iraola's men face the stern challenge of taking on high-flying Arsenal next.
Joshua Ojele
