Four-goal Patson Daka urged Leicester to forget his heroics after he revived their Europa League hopes.
The striker’s stunning performance pulled the Foxes back from the brink to win 4-3 at Spartak Moscow.
They had fallen 2-0 behind following goals from Aleksandr Sobolev and Jordan Larsson in Russia before Daka stole the show.
Sobolev did make it 4-3 late on but the Foxes rose to second in Group C, having picked up just one point from their opening two games, before Napoli’s match with Legia Warsaw on Wednesday evening.
Daka became the first Leicester player to net a hat-trick in Europe and, in one game, is now their joint top European goalscorer.
“It’s not time to celebrate now, it’s now history and we have to focus on the game at the weekend,” said Daka who moved to the King Power Stadium for £23million from RB Salzburg in the summer.
“There is a lot of hard work to be done and we have to keep the consistency.
🔥 Deadly Daka 🔥— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) October 20, 2021
“The goals may look easy but you need total concentration, I know my strengths and I know the quality of the team. I just had to utilise my speed and concentrate a lot on my finishing.
“This was my first time (scoring four goals), I hope and believe this won’t be the last. I will continue working hard and making sure I can score as many goals as possible.
“It was very important for me to continue building the confidence. It all comes down to the team, it was a great team performance.
“It was really important for us to get three points, to build on last weekend and give us the direction going into the weekend’s game (at Brentford).”
Leicester fell behind when Boubakary Soumare deflected in Sobolev’s cross and a minute before the break Larsson, son of former Celtic and Manchester United striker Henrik, doubled Spartak’s lead following a mistake from Caglar Soyuncu.
Daka pulled a goal back 74 seconds later and it proved crucial as he fired Leicester ahead within 10 minutes of the restart.
He tapped in Kelechi Iheanacho’s cross before completing his hat-trick by latching on to Youri Tielemans’ pass and beating Aleksandar Maksimenko.
The Zambia international continued to torment Spartak and added a classy fourth before Sobolev’s late second ensured there were some late Leicester nerves.
It's FOUR for City and FOUR for Daka, who side-foots in from Maddison's pass 👌— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 20, 2021
Boss Brendan Rodgers added: “I’m satisfied with the result, it’s a great victory, and satisfied with the mentality and spirit from the team.
“I’m satisfied with the second-half performance, we were more aggressive without the ball, and I’m super satisfied with Patson scoring for goals.
“To do it in an away game in Europe is so special. All his finishes were really calm and composed. That’s his biggest strength, when he is through one-on-one he has great composure.
“It was a great victory for us, it was a massive game for us in terms of the group stage. It was decisive.”
