Pereira lauds Leicester difference-maker Monga in Birmingham win
Birmingham City's unbeaten start to the Championship season came to an end as they were beaten 2-0 by Leicester City on Friday.
Ricardo Pereira took the time to laud Leicester City youngster Jeremy Monga for his contribution during the Foxes' 2-0 win over Birmingham City on Friday.
Both Pereira and Monga emerged from the bench to combine for Leicester's second goal at the King Power Stadium to end Blues' unbeaten start to the campaign.
Leicester had taken the lead in the eighth minute through Abdul Fatawu, who picked out the top-left corner after cutting inside on to his right foot from just outside the box.
Marti Cifuentes' side sealed the win two minutes from time when Monga's neat footwork created space for a cross to the back post that Pereira tucked home from close range.
The result saw Leicester move up to third in the second-tier standings ahead of this weekend's action, but it was Monga's display that caught the eye.
Monga became the youngest goalscorer in Championship history at 16 years and 37 days old in Leicester's 2-1 defeat to Preston North End on August 16.
"It was a very good assist from Jeremy Monga. He said to him before he came on, let's try to make the difference and he did with the perfect ball," Pereira told Sky Sports.
Leicester were perhaps fortunate to get all three points, having managed an expected goals (xG) total of 0.56 from their five shots to Birmingham's 0.83 from their 11 attempts.
The Foxes, however, have now won each of their last four home league games, something they have failed to do since April 2024, when they were last in the Championship.
"Definitely happy because it's never easy to win in this league against a good team that has done well so far," Cifuentes added.
"We had to grind it out but at the same time credit to the players. It was a game with perhaps not many chances.
"We definitely need to improve, but at the same time, I see a team that has a soul, that has commitment, desire and that's the foundation of everything that we want to build here."
For Chris Davies and Birmingham, meanwhile, it proved to not be their day in front of goal, registering just one shot at Jakub Stolarczyk's net during the encounter.
The visitors also had 54.8% possession, but Davies bemoaned his side's lack of a clinical edge in the final third.
"We're disappointed to lose the game - I thought we had the lion's share of the game, were strong and dominant throughout," Davies said.
"I thought we disrupted Leicester and played well with the ball until the final bit when we couldn't create clear chances.
"A lot of it was good but it was a poor opening goal to concede although we recovered well from that but then a poor second goal to concede and it's difficult to take."
