Marti Cifuentes slams Leicester City after QPR romp as Sam Parkin makes Charlton Athletic prophecy - round-up

QPR thrashed an in-form Leicester City side 4-1 at Loftus Road on Saturday afternoon, a result made to taste all the sweeter given that former head coach Marti Cifuentes was on the receiving end of the loss.

The 43-year-old had spoken positively about his season and a half in west London prior to returning to Loftus Road this weekend but left under a cloud in the summer. QPR had placed Cifuentes on gardening leave prior to the end of the 2024/25 campaign after the manager was reported to have held conversations with West Brom over the vacancy at the Hawthorns, before eventually seeing his contract terminated by mutual agreement.

Koki Saito opened the scoring after just two minutes for QPR with Richard Kone, Karamoko Dembele and Amadou Mbengue all also on the scoresheet. The victory lifts QPR to seventh in the Championship, above Leicester City who now sit in 13th.

Marti Cifuentes reacts to defeat on return to QPR

Reacting to the defeat, Cifuentes spoke positively of what his former club delivered on the pitch. He said: “Really, really angry. Really disappointed about the first half. We played below the standard, and we get punished. Credit to QPR, they did really well. Exactly the kind of game that we knew they like. They were aggressive, strong on duels. We got punished. The way we concede the [first] three goals is very poor.”

When asked what in particular let him down about his side, Cifuentes said: “I’m talking about many things. What I can tell you is that we as a club, who we want to be as Leicester, we think we need to do much better in terms of not only the way we play, but the way we compete. Sometimes in games like today, it’s very important to have this mindset to compete really well in all areas of the game.”

Sam Parkin - Charlton Athletic goal can be Kelman ‘catalyst’

Meanwhile, Charlton Athletic also bagged an important three points before Christmas with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Oxford United. Charlie Kelman was the difference maker on his return to the squad, coming off the bench to score the only goal in the 78th minute.

That was a welcome strike for the 24-year-old, who arrived at The Valley with much hype from QPR this summer. Kelman had plundered 34 goals on loan at Leyton Orient last term.

The forward didn’t find the back of the net in his first 12 Championship appearances for the Addicks, before breaking his duck in November against Swansea City. An injury then followed with Kelman only returning to the matchday squad against Oxford United.

Reacting to the Charlton Athletic win on Final Score, EFL journeyman Sam Parkin prophesised that the goal could lead to a run of form for the talisman.

He said: “Massive for both of those teams. Charlie Kelman, let’s face it, that signing hasn’t worked out as of yet, that could be the catalyst to better performances and more goals for him.”

In other news, QPR enter Leicester City and Southampton race for 'stunning' Premier League transfer swoop.