The manager gives his thoughts on the 3-1 victory at Swansea that saw City extend their winning run to seven matches and take a five-point lead at the top of the Championship

Jannik Vestergaard’s lack of celebration and the substitutes’ pre-match support prove what a “special” team Enzo Maresca has at Leicester City, the manager has said after the 3-1 win at Swansea.

City came from behind to get their seventh straight victory and move five points clear at the top, with Vestergaard starting the comeback by bundling in the equaliser before half-time. Rather than laud his first goal for the club, the Dane picked the ball up out of the net and immediately jogged back to the halfway line. That proved City’s desire to win, Maresca said.

There was further proof of how united the team are before the match, the manager revealed, when he said substitutes Conor Coady, Hamza Choudhury and Harry Souttar, and third-choice goalkeeper Danny Ward, were geeing up their team-mates in the first 11. It’s a sign of togetherness that’s not commonplace in football.

“The way he’s playing is unbelievable,” Maresca said of Vestergaard. “I’m pleased. And probably this is the reason why this group is so special, it’s because before the game, Hamza, Conor, Wardy, Harry Souttar, they were the guys that were talking. All of them they were on the bench.

“It was not a team talk, it was just supporting each other. Most of the time, these kinds of things are from the players in the first 11. The players on the bench, they are always a little bit unhappy, sad, these things are normal. But in our case, the guys on the bench are the guys who support, and this shows the desire and our togetherness.

“Then Jannik, when he scored, he didn’t celebrate, he just took the ball to start again because it showed the desire to win the game. For us, the idea is important, playing inside and outside is important, but these details are much more important.”