Leicester beat MK Dons to reach the quarter-finals

Leicester outlasted MK Dons to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup in their first post-World Cup match.

Her sharpness was a step above and proved to be too much for the MK Dons member of the third tier.

Leicester assistant manager Chris Davies said: “We had hoped this would be a perfect game for us before the Premier League resumed and it turned out to be the case.”

Thirty-eight days after the Foxes last played their last competitive game, Brendan Rodgers’ side didn’t look like a side lacking in intensity, firing early warning shots through Perez and Timothy Castagne.

Davies added: “It was a really good evening for us, it’s a really positive thing, after we were a few weeks away from competitive action it was really nice to come back with a good run and a win.

“The cohesion was really good, and we had the majority of the squad with us in our training camp [over the break]. “

Both attempts missed but soon found a way past the goalkeeper when Tielemans was on hand to fire the first after Jamie Cumming had heeled a bold Vardy into the Belgian’s path.

Leicester’s second came when Perez created a deft touch inside the 18-yard box to control a long ball from Luke Thomas before slotting a neat effort into the back of the net.

The hosts struggled to make any impression and failed to make the best of their chances as Daniel Harvey fired a half-volley over the bar shortly before half-time.

Leicester’s dominance grew after the break and Vardy made it three when he nodded in Castagne’s cross to complete the scoring in a one-sided victory.

The Foxes will be bolstered by the return of James Maddison when they take on Newcastle United on Boxing Day in their first Premier League game after the break, with the midfielder missing for Tuesday’s game.

Maddison was part of the England squad for the World Cup in Qatar but did not feature in any matches.