Burton Albion delivered a major League One upset with a 2-1 victory over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday. The win came against a Leicester side playing their first home league game in the third tier for 17 years and marked a significant result for the Brewers, who are perennial relegation battlers.
Leicester manager Russell Martin took full responsibility for the loss, which dropped his team to 18th in the table. "I take responsibility as a manager, so if I haven't prepared them psychologically well enough, we must look at that," Martin told reporters. The defeat was Leicester's first in League One this season, a stark contrast to Burton's current standing of 7th with 4 points from their opening two games.
The game turned decisively in Burton's favour during a chaotic first half. Leicester found themselves two goals down before the half-hour mark, and their situation worsened when midfielder Oliver Skipp received a straight red card in the 29th minute for a dangerously high tackle on Burton defender Curtis Tilt. The sending off forced Leicester into what Martin later called a 'nothing to lose mentality'. Wes Burns managed to pull a goal back for the hosts before halftime, but Burton held firm.
Martin was blunt in his assessment of his team's start. "One team wanted it during the opening 25 minutes and were hungry. We weren't, definitely not hungry enough," he said. The performance prompted boos from the home support at full-time and led to what the manager described as 'really honest conversations' within the squad. They have already reviewed the goals as a group to highlight aspects of their play they do not want to repeat.
The immediate fallout sees Leicester languishing in the bottom half, while Burton's strong start has them just two points behind leaders Bradford City. Leicester have scored 3 goals and conceded 2 so far, giving them a +1 goal difference. Martin stated that performances will dictate team selection for their next League One match away at MK Dons. He expects some players to come into the team for Tuesday's Carabao Cup tie against Ipswich Town and be hungry to stake a claim for a regular spot.
Changes for that cup game are inevitable, according to the manager. It pits two clubs with contrasting recent fortunes against each other. Both Ipswich and Leicester won promotion to the Premier League in 2024 and were relegated a year later, but while Ipswich achieved immediate promotion back, Leicester suffered successive relegations. An entire division now separates them.
For Burton, the focus shifts to maintaining this positive momentum. Their next fixture is a home game against AFC Wimbledon on September 2nd. Wimbledon currently sit 23rd in the table, presenting another opportunity for the Brewers to build on their promising early-season form. Fans can track the team's progress and upcoming matches on our fixtures page and view the latest standings.
Martin emphasised that the poor opening 25 minutes against Burton must be the worst spell of Leicester's season. He believes there will be opportunities for players to respond and put things right. With Burton proving they can compete with and beat one of the division's biggest names, their campaign has been given a major early boost.
