Can Leicester top Reading’s record in the Championship after their record start?
Leicester at their best. An excellent team. A team - record, credited solely to Enzo Maresca. First, by double figures from 3rd place, equaling the best start to the Championship in history and looking towards Reading's improbable run 18 years ago. Yes, this year's Leicester can exceed... 106 points!
By DIMITRIS MANAKOS
Has anyone figured out what Leicester are doing in the Championship this year? What have Enzo Maresca's side achieved and where have they managed to be after the first 11 matches in the second tier of English football, just a few months after being relegated from the Premier League?
The truth is that anyone who thought that when the "foxes" were relegated, they became the absolute favorite to win the championship and return to the top division, was fully justified. At least that seems to be the case after the first two months in the Championship, with Leicester sitting top of the table with 30 points from 33 available.
They have won 10 of their 11 Championship games so far, are 10 points above 3rd in the table and have equaled Sheffield United's record for the best start in the division in 2005-06, which also saw 10 wins and one defeat.
At the same time, Enzo Maresca's team have the best goal difference (+17), have conceded the fewest goals of any club in the division, as they have only seen their own goal conceded six times and have kept a clean sheet in five of those 11 matches of his. No other team has done it on more occasions!
Some things are rumored to be a product of…coach. And in the case of Enzo Maresca, this is true, as long as Leicester play the way he wants. With high percentages of possession of the ball (63.7%), with great efficiency and with a Jamie Vardy, who is not part of the rotation, but a key member of the team.
Beyond that, Leicester's course this year "raises" a very basic question. Assuming they will return to the Premier League, we take the discussion a step further.
Can they break the all-time Championship record set by Reading 18 years ago? At that time, the "royals" had secured their promotion with 106 points. The answer is simple... If this year's Leicester can't, then who can?
