Leicester vs Stoke match report: Stoke’s Bojan Krkic proves one of the signings of the season

Leicester City 0 Stoke City 1

(Getty Images)

Barcelona decided he could no longer do it on a balmy evening at the Nou Camp but Bojan Krkic is proving he can hack it in the freezing outposts of the Premier League for Stoke City. The little Spanish striker raised eyebrows when signing on at the Britannia but his fourth goal for Stoke underlined why, for an £800,000 fee, he is proving one of the signings of the season.

Leicester City may have spent almost £20m on striking talent in debutant Andrej Kramaric and Leonardo Ulloa in a bid to rescue the game but they had no answer to Bojan’s fine strike after 63 minutes. Collecting a pass from Jonathan Walters, Bojan swivelled into the area and found the corner of the net with a wonderfully precise finish.

“He is getting better every game,” said his manager, Mark Hughes. “The Premier League is a strong league and initially he was taken aback but he has learned quickly which shows he is an intelligent footballer. Now he is up to speed and is thriving – maybe the last two or three years, he hasn’t felt too wanted but that is not the case here.”

While this was Stoke’s fourth victory in six games, for Leicester it was the end of their four-game mini-revival. Nigel Pearson’s side remain two points adrift at the bottom and their next six league games comprise trips to Manchester United, Arsenal, Everton and Manchester City, and home matches against Crystal Palace and Chelsea.

Bojan celebrates the winner with his team-mates (Getty Images)

Leicester’s best moments came in the first half when the pacy Jeffrey Schlupp caught the eye down the left. A Ghana Football Association doctor had ruled him out of the Africa Cup of Nations with a knee problem but he set up Leicester’s clearest chance for Anthony Knockaert, who shot straight at Asmir Begovic.

“We didn’t carve out enough meaningful chances,” lamented Leicester’s manager Pearson.

Line-ups:

Leicester (4-4-2): Hamer; Simpson, Morgan, Wasilewski, Konchesky; Knockaert, Drinkwater, King, Schlupp (Lawrence, 71); Nugent (Ulloa, 71), Vardy (Kramari, 65).

Stoke(4-2-3-1): Begovic; Bardsley, Wilson, Wollscheid, Muniesa; Whelan (c), Nzonzi; Arnautovic (Crouch, 81), Krkic, Moses (Cameron, 86); Walters.

Referee: A Marriner.

Man of the match: Bojan Krkic (Stoke).

Match rating: 6/10.