Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca celebrated Cesare Casadei’s victory-clinching goal against Rotherham as the midfielder’s long-awaited second goal of the campaign.
Maresca brought Casadei on with 20 minutes left in the game against Rotherham and he scored two minutes after coming on, finding space in the box to head in Ricardo Pereira’s cross. It’s his first goal since he scored a last-minute winner on his City debut against Cardiff in August, and the manager feels like it’s been a long time coming.
He stated that the Chelsea loanee has had chances in every match he’s played and that only a lack of clinical finishing held him back. The 20-year-old notably came close in the win over Sunderland at the end of October, while he missed a one-on-one opportunity last time out at Birmingham.
When asked about Casadei’s goal, Maresca said: “Finally! He had many chances. I said: ‘Cesare, you scored in the first game and then you stopped!’
But Cesare is this kind of player. If you see every game… Birmingham, last game, he was one v one against the keeper. Every game he plays, he has chances. Because of his age, he needs to become a little more clinical, but he’s a very, very good player.”
And he could get more chances over the coming games. The win over Rotherham was the first of four matches in 10 days for City, and Maresca is likely to rotate at some point during that period, as he has done when the schedule has been busy throughout the season.
Casadei has started six games in the Championship so far, including a run of three in late October and early November, when Wilfred Ndidi was injured. His most recent start came in the 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday at the end of last month.
