Leicester City (3)1-1 (4) Manchester City AET: Lessons learned
By James Lassey
Leicester City took league leaders Manchester City the distance in their Carabao Cup quarter-final showdown but bowed out on penalties.
A Jamie Vardy 96th minute penalty cancelled out Bernardo Silva’s opener but it was key men Vardy and Riyad Mahrez who missed their respective spot kicks which sent Pep Guardiola’s men into the semi-finals.
Claude Puel made seven changes to the side that lost 3-0 to Palace on Saturday and gave many fringe players the opportunity to impress.
But, what exactly did we learn from the 4-3 penalty defeat?
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Iheanacho doesn’t make the grade
In what was only his second start for Leicester City, his first under Puel, Kelechi Iheanacho failed to leave an impression.
While he did a lot of running, the quality behind his movement was lacklustre and he looked bewildered.
Although, confidence may be the detrimental factor, you cannot help but feel that his Leicester City days are numbered. He looks nothing like the player that could one day fill the shoes of talisman Vardy.
Despite his 12 goals in 12 starts for Manchester City, the 21-year-old who may still have the potential to become a top class player doesn’t look like doing it at Leicester.
There were two key moments for the Nigerian. Firstly he combined well with Shinji Okazaki before dispatching a tame side-footed effort down to Claudio Bravo’s right. Then he found himself a little further out and again opted for the side of his boot, the outcome saw the ball fly over the bar.
He seems to lack the belief that he was going to score and the uncertainty surrounding his future appears to be taking its toll on the striker.
His game was later summed up when he left the field in place for Vardy on 50 minutes.