The match started in thin January sunlight, the floodlights on despite the daylight, the sky a pale, washed-out blue that made the red and blue of the Palace shirts look brighter than usual against the King Power's green.
Three thousand Palace fans were packed into the away end, having made the drive up from London before dawn for a twelve-thirty kick-off. The energy was tired but defiant. Friday-morning energy. Not-quite-awake energy.
But three thousand people who had left their beds at six a.m. to watch football in Leicester were not the kind of people who needed encouraging. They were singing before the teams emerged.
We started fast. Exactly as I had asked.
In the third minute, Neves played a pass that announced the afternoon. A forty-yard diagonal from the centre circle, struck with the outside of his right boot, the ball arcing over the Leicester midfield and landing at Zaha's feet on the left touchline.
