Leicester City: Player ratings as Musa and Okazaki shine against Crystal Palace
Leicester City got themselves back to winning ways in the Premier League earning their first victory over Crystal Palace in four matches.
The visitors managed to score late to spoil a bit of the party, but it was without a doubt just the kind of win that Leicester truly needed to get their heads straight before heading to Tottenham next weekend.
Ahmed Musa, Shinji Okazaki and Christian Fuchs all got on the scoresheet and impressed with it starting to look like there is just a bit of swagger returning to the defending champions.
Claudio Ranieri looks to have gotten this one right and giving Jamie Vardy a rest looks like it could have inadvertently opened the door for Ahmed Musa and Shinji Okazaki to wiggle out some playing time the next few weeks.
PLAYER RATINGS
Kasper Schmeichel – Once again was outstanding and deserved a clean sheet, but had it snatched from him late on. – 8.0
Danny Simpson – Cleared one off the line and was as solid in defense as ever as he keeps proving he is a steady performer week after week. – 7.0
Wes Morgan – Put in a captains shift willing to throw his body on the line for the cause whenever called to do so. – 7.0
Robert Huth – Looked to enjoy his task of dealing with Christian Benteke and rolled back a few years to show his true ability. – 7.5
Christian Fuchs – Had a tough assignment with Wilfried Zaha on the right flank, but did well with his less experienced opponent and scored a wonder-strike to seal the game. – 7.5
Riyad Mahrez – Looked like the Mahrez of last season and showed great skill and creativity as he continues to build a partnerships with countryman Islam Slimani upfront. – 8.5
Andy King – Continues to be diligent and quiet in his work and proves his worth in the first team by how well he manages to blend into the game with his constant reliability and hard work. – 7.0
Danny Drinkwater – Another dominant performance from the 26-year-old as he continues to show he is coming into his own this season. – 7.5
Ahmed Musa – Playing out of position on the left flank, likely because of his pace, and took a bit to get into the game. However, opening his account looked to finally ease some nerves and we may start to see his true talents come out. – 7.5
Shinji Okazaki – Was frustrating to see him miss a brilliant chance early on, but he more than made up for it with the second goal of the match and his constant energy. – 8.0
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Islam Slimani – Missed a diving header that would have been sensational, but overall put in a solid shift. – 7.0
SUBSTITUTIONS
Jamie Vardy – Brought on with 16 minutes to play and worked hard and the game was pretty much decided a few minutes later through Fuchs. – 6.0
Demarai Gray –Only had about ten minutes to work with, didn’t get a huge chance to make an impact. – 6.0
Daniel Amartey – Was brought on last to try and waste some time and lock up the result. – 6.0
The Foxes now have a full week to get ready for their next big test against Tottenham at White Hart Lane next weekend while they miss out of the next round of the English League Cup during mid-week.
Ranieri will be pleased with the performances of Musa and Okazaki as well and could see them retain their places next week or at least be nearly guaranteed a second half run out.