Leicester's Cengiz Under sparks comeback FA Cup win after Brentford scare

As James Maddison scored Leicester’s third goal, Brendan Rodgers performed his trademark celebration on the touchline: head bowed, arms imperiously raised skywards, as if beseeching us to exalt him. It is the pose Rodgers adopts when he wants everybody to know exactly whose triumph this was. And as a heavily-changed side accelerated effortlessly through the gears in the second half, it was hard not to beguiled by the character and industry of a team increasingly being cast in its manager’s audacious image.

Certainly, whatever Rodgers managed to impart to his team at the half-time break seemed to work handsomely. In the space of only 25 minutes, Leicester had managed to spin a potential embarrassment into a clinical comeback, cancelling out Mads Bech Sørensen’s early goal and earning a fifth-round tie against Brighton. Most importantly, they did so not by diluting but by reaffirming their principles.

If the first half underlined the areas for improvement – principally their defending at set pieces and the issue of how to unlock well-organised defences without the injured Jamie Vardy – then perhaps in this most ruthless of seasons all teams can be excused the odd dizzy spell. What really impressed was the way Leicester reacted, asserting themselves not with headless running or feverish risk-taking but simply a cold turn of the screw.

Is there a better young creative midfielder than Maddison in English football right now? Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Tanguy Ndombele – among many others – may have something to say about that. But after a watery first half, Maddison roared into the game in the second. It was his snaking, duplicitous run in the 46th minute that created the equaliser and as Leicester tightened their grip on the game so did Maddison: linking play, gilding moves, occasionally even leading the line.

Elsewhere, Youri Tielemans was a delight to watch, a deft, quick-thinking presence in the most crowded area of the pitch. Harvey Barnes, who hit his straps after a slow start, is clearly going to be an incredible player one day. Ricardo Pereira continued his encouraging return to first-team action. Better defences and bigger tests await. But on current form, this is a team worth taking very seriously indeed.

“I was pleased at half-time,” Rodgers said afterwards. “Sometimes you can go in 1-0 down and think everything’s negative. But it was just about tightening up. We were a fraction deep in the first half, which doesn’t allow us to press with the same coordination. Stay calm, play our game, keep the intensity.”

It was a bitterly cold day, with a light dusting of snow on the pitch making the roll of the ball a little unpredictable, but nevertheless both teams had come to play. Brentford’s strong record in cup competitions has largely vindicated Thomas Frank’s rotation strategy and he was able to make six changes without a significant drop in cohesion. Sørensen’s opener, an opportunistic toe-poke from a corner, was the first of three big chances created from dead balls. The other two, from Tariqe Fosu and Saman Ghoddos, forced good saves from Danny Ward.

Yet having defended their lead so impressively until the break, Brentford would surrender it within 50 seconds of the restart. Caglar Soyuncu won the ball high from Ghoddos, setting Maddison clear; squirming past two players, he put the ball on a plate for Cengiz Under with a beautiful heel pass. It was the first real moment of class from either side and perhaps the moment Brentford realised Leicester were about to take the game to a level they could not reach.

False nine Ayoze Pérez had spent much of the first half dropping into Maddison’s space. Now he took up a more withdrawn role on the left, giving Maddison and Tielemans more room to play with. Tielemans put Leicester ahead with a soft penalty and, with 19 minutes remaining, Maddison locked down the game by bundling home after a delicious through ball from Under to Barnes.

Brentford could easily have subsided after that; instead, a young side dug in their heels and could easily have claimed a late consolation through the substitute Aaron Pressley. For Leicester, meanwhile, a wonderful opportunity to fix their curiously dreadful FA Cup record: no final since 1969, no semi-final since 1982. Leicester for the Cup? Well, why not? After all, if the recent history of English football teaches us anything, it is this: you write off Leicester at your extreme peril.