West Brom 0 Leicester City 3 - Report and pictures

Leicester spoiled the party on Albion's return to the Premier League by securing a 3-0 win at The Hawthorns.

In a new 3-4-3 system, Slaven Bilic's side impressed in a captivating first-half that saw Darnell Furlong and Matheus Pereira both go close to opening the scoring.

But after the interval Brendan Rodgers' side took control.

They opened the scoring through debutant Timothy Castagne who nodded in a Dennis Praet cross.

Jamie Vardy then scored twice from the spot - with both penalties easily preventable.

The first arrived off-the-ball when Kyle Bartley fouled the former England striker in the box - who emphatically fired home.

Dara O'Shea then tripped James Justin just outside the box - a foul the Leicester man was looking for but with Vardy again doing the business from 12-yards.

Report

Throughout last season, Bilic chose to alternate between 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 systems.

But the head coach changed his tactics completely for Albion's first match back in the top flight, with the Croatian surprising everyone by opting for a 3-4-3 formation.

It saw O'Shea, Bartley and Semi Ajayi start at centre-back with Furlong and Kieran Gibbs operating as wing-backs.

Romaine Sawyers and Jake Livermore were the midfield two.

In attack, Grady Diangana started on the left with Pereira on the right and Callum Robinson through the middle.

Leicester lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with former Baggies loanee Harvey Barnes starting on the left-wing. Ayoze Perez was on the right with Vardy the central striker.

In what was a fascinating opening 25 minutes, Albion pressed with real aggression - giving Leicester next to no time on the ball.

But they also moved the ball well and stuck to their principles of playing out from the back.

With Pereira and Diangana providing width but also tucking inside to support Robinson when needed, Albion had been the brighter of the two teams.

And they created the game's first real chance when Robinson broke the off-side trap to roll a cross into the six-yard box.

That was met by Furlong but the wing-back arrived just a touch too late with Leicester getting enough bodies back to crowd out his shot.

Albion threatened again when a brilliant pass forward from Sam Johnstone was collected by Furlong who was then hacked down on the edge of the box by Justin.

Pereira took the resultant free-kick and struck a powerful effort which was on target but cannoned into the wall.

Leicester had offered very little.

But Rodgers' side shifted gear completely as the clock ticked past the half-hour mark.

And they called Johnstone into action three times in quick succession.

First, Barnes latched onto a cross only to see his volley beaten away by the keeper.

The former Albion loanee then squeezed a powerful shot past Ajayi only for Johnstone to again prove he was equal to it.

The Foxes were now enjoying a spell where they were on top.

And they threatened once again when Vardy skipped past O'Shea before hitting a powerful drive which Johnstone again parried away.

Despite those three chances, though, Albion weathered the storm and regrouped.

And it was Bilic's side who almost broke the deadlock just before the break with a brilliant Livermore ball finding Pereira in the box.

The Brazilian then spun sharply and hit a low drive towards goal which Kasper Schmeichel managed to keep out with his legs.

The opening stages of the second half proved to be cagey and even.

But in the 56th minute, Leicester opened the scoring.

Albion had opportunities to clear the ball in the build-up and then failed to track Praet as he darted to the byline.

He then stood up a cross which debutant Castagne headed in from close range.

Bilic responded by making a change - with Hal Robson-Kanu replacing Robinson.

Kyle Edwards and Rekeem Harper then replaced Furlong and Sawyers in a move that saw Albion switch to a 4-2-3-1 system.

But just moments later they were 2-0 down after gifting Leicester a penalty.

A surging run from Barnes saw the winger see a low shot saved by Johnstone.

But in the area, VAR spotted that Bartley had fouled Vardy - who then made no mistake from 12-yards.

That goal sapped Albion's confidence - with Leicester now in complete control.

And Vardy then got his second from the spot when O'Shea was judged to have tripped Justin in the box.

Once again the former England striker emphatically found the back of the net to wrap up what, overall, turned out to be a comfortable win for his side.

Teams

Albion: Johnstone, O'Shea, Bartley, Ajayi, Furlong (Harper 69), Livermore, Sawyers (Edwards 69), Gibbs, Pereira, Diangana, Robinson (Robson-Kanu 60).

Subs: Button, Hegazi, Grosicki, Austin.

Leicester (4-3-3): Schmeichel, Castagne, Ndidi, Soyuncu, Justin, Tielemans, Praet (Maddison 75), Mendy, Perez (Albrighton 67), Vardy, Barnes.

Subs not used, Thomas, Ward, Iheanacho, Choudhury, Fuchs.