A team that Rodgers has repeatedly stressed is in need of renewal looks stagnant. Having been resoundingly outclassed by high-profile Brighton, they remain top of the Premier League. Graham Potter’s side even had the luxury of losing an early lead, Kelechi Iheanacho putting the visitors in front within a minute. A Luke Thomas own goal and Moises Caicedo’s strike overturned the deficit before Patson Daka equalised. After the break, and after more VAR wrangling, Leandro Trossard and Alexis Mac Allister – first from the penalty spot and then with a superb free kick – secured a deserved home win. Both clubs made healthy summer profits thanks to Chelsea, but that’s where the current similarities end. These groups are on very different trajectories. Brighton’s under Potter is very bullish. Despite losing arguably their three best players from last season – Yves Bissouma, Marc Cucurella and Neal Maupay – they look in sync and, unlike in previous years, are finding goals from multiple sources. Mac Allister shines from the base of midfield. Lester needs to learn to swim again, but right now she’s getting wet. Without meaning from opening day, Rodgers has spent the last few days recalibrating Leicester’s expectations and his starting line-up. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jamie Vardy were both left out of the side that lost to Manchester United, replaced by Iheanacho and Daka. Those two were given their first league starts of the season and Rodgers’ decision was instantly vindicated. The supporters had barely taken their seats when Youri Tielemans got past Solly March and fed Harvey Barnes, who in turn slipped Daka wide from the left. Iheanacho came on and the away fans were excited. Brendan Rodgers and Leicester are now on a five game losing streak. Photo: Robin Jones/Getty Images However, Leicester’s joy was short-lived. Brighton also lost in midweek and went hot and cold under Graham Potter. But their newfound rebuke means heads didn’t fall. Instead, they swept Leicester. The equalizer came when Trossard kept alive Pascal Grosz’s cross. He lifted the ball to the back post for March, who nodded in through Luke Thomas. It was full-back perfection and redemption for March. Brighton took the lead when Enoch Muepu intercepted a pass James Maddison simply shouldn’t have attempted in half. Mwepu stormed forward, Caicedo finished calmly and Amex broke free. It had only been 15 minutes. When Wilfred Ndidi’s back pass was mishandled by Danny Ward, Danny Welbeck almost put Brighton ahead. From a cute angle, Welbeck’s effort ended up in the roof of the net. But Ward was Leicester’s representative: a toxic cocktail of nerves and sloppiness. He had earlier caught Thomas trying to play from the back, leading to a booking for the left-back. Ward is not a replacement for Kasper Schmeichel. Soon after, and completely against the flow of the game, parity was restored and the ease with which the goal came infuriated Potter. Barnes clipped forward Adam Webster and Tielemans cut in a high ball for Dhaka. Lewis Dunk was caught off guard and, a perfect first touch later, Daka slotted past Robert Sánchez. The second half started almost as quickly as the first. McAllister’s first strike was impressive, slotting past Ward after Leicester had half-cleared. But after a long delay, VAR Chris Kavanagh advised Tony Harrington to check the pitchside monitor for a possible offside from Gross’ initial foul. Mwepu was adjudged to have interfered in play and the scores remained level. When multiple people take more than four minutes to reach a conclusion, many could argue that no clear and obvious error has occurred. A shame, as the strike would have been a contender for goal of the month. Fueled by the injustice, Brighton surged forward and retook the lead when Gross stabbed forward to Trossard, who finished across from Ward. The fourth came when Trossard got past Ndidi on the byline and was brought down in the box. McAllister slotted the resulting penalty over the middle. McAllister added to Leicester’s misery with a superb effort into the top left corner with the last kick of the game. Rogers simply crossed his arms and looked up at the sky.
