Leicester City 3 Huddersfield 0: Riyad Mahrez's classy volley inspires Foxes

The idea of Claude Puel giving his players a half-time ear-bashing seems absurd given the whispering tones of his post-match discourse in the press room but something the Frenchman said enabled Leicester to leave behind a lifeless first-half to notch their first win in five Premier League matches.

They – and their opponents – had looked to be paying the price for four matches in 10 days as they struggled to find energy and accuracy in a forgettable first 45 minutes.

But the match then turned on two moments of quality, both of which had Riyad Mahrez at their heart.

Still supposedly courting a move away from the King Power Stadium after his request for a transfer met without success last summer, Mahrez scored Leicester’s first goal and set up their second for Algerian compatriot Islam Slimani to continue an impressive run of form under Puel.

In 13 matches since the Frenchman took charge in November, Mahrez has played a key role – providing the assist or the finish – in 10 goals.  Cynics might feel that his resurgence is not unconnected with the coming of another transfer window but there is no arguing with the skill he possesses when his game falls into place.

His touch for the 53rd-minute opening goal was sublime, meeting a ball hooked back into the box by Marc Albrighton from a half-cleared long throw with a side-foot volley past goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.

Seven minutes later, linking play in a trademark Leicester counter-attack as Huddersfield pushed forward in search of a quick equaliser, he sent Slimani away to score the second and effectively put the contest to bed.

Asked about Mahrez’s future at the club with Arsenal said to be considering him as a possible target, Puel played a straight bat. “There is bound to be speculation about Riyad but I want to keep my best players in the team and in the squad.

“Why is he so much better since I have been here?  Maybe because I speak French.

“I think it just that we have tried to find ways to win matches and Riyad and other players are enjoying the games. You will have to ask him whether he wants to stay.”

Slimani’s goal, his first in the Premier League since April, was not far behind his fellow Algerian in terms of quality.  Having first turned on a burst of power to put himself in a position to shoot, he managed then to conjure a neat chipped finish as Lossl rushed out to close the angle.

The deserving Albrighton, who had been Leicester’s man of the match apart from Mahrez, added a third goal for Puel’s side in stoppage time, tucking the ball away after a Demarai Gray cross was deflected into his path.

Huddersfield’s best chance in the opening half was denied when Harry Maguire appeared to stop Danny Williams with a foul just outside the box as he broke away on an Aaron Mooy pass.  Referee Graham Scott, though, saw nothing wrong and manager David Wagner appeared to agree.

“I haven’t seen it again but my initial thought was that maybe (Danny) went for the foul when he should have gone for the shot on goal,” he said.

Leicester, for whom Jamie Vardy was missing “as a precaution” after sustaining a minor groin injury at Liverpool on Saturday, may be without skipper Wes Morgan for a prolonged spell after the defender suffered damage to a hamstring when he stretched for a tackle early in the first half.

But they were able to give five minutes on the field to £22 million signing from Sporting Lisbon, midfielder Adrien Silva, after he was cleared to play in the early hours. Leicester agreed the deal to bring the Portuguese international to the King Power Stadium in the summer but missed the transfer deadline by 14 seconds.