It took a last minute Riyad Mahrez wonder-goal to turn agony into ecstasy for the Leicester City faithful in what was otherwise a disappointing performance. Here’s what we learned from the 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium:
Leicester City’s midfield fires a blank again
There had been much talk about the need for Adrien Silva to break down a stubborn opposition defence, but even his presence didn’t make much of a difference; in fact, it didn’t make a difference at all. A few moments of excellence apart, the 28-year old barely did anything of note and was rightly put out of his misery at the 58th minute.
His partner Matty James was just as awful throughout, almost repeating his performance from the last week against Stoke City. The midfield had been a headache for Craig Shakespeare, too, and it led to his eventual downfall – no reason why it couldn’t for Claude Puel.
He has got to find a way to improve in the middle of the park, and he has got to do it quickly.
Profligacy, profligacy and profligacy
Like the troubles in the midfield, Leicester City’s wastefulness in front of goal is another shortcoming that has popped up again, perhaps at the wrong time. For a good while, Puel’s side had found a clinical edge to them, and they got the rewards for that.
However, in continuation of their recent trend, they missed chance after chance today. May it be Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho or Wes Morgan – they were all guilty of not making the most of clear-cut goalscoring opportunities.
There’s no coach or manager in the world who can fix this. A manager can only setup a side right, give them instructions, impart tactical awareness and create a setup within which to operate, but if the players miss from two yards, then it’s not the boss’ fault. Solution? Confidence.
Sometimes, all you need is some Mahrez Magic
Few players in the world can turn around a game in just one moment, and Riyad Mahrez is certainly one of them. The Algerian produced a moment of wonderful quality from 30 yards at the 97th minute to rescue a point for his side, causing an eruption of emotions at the King Power Stadium.
It was scintillating to say the least. Most of us had given up and were only waiting for him to send it over the bar or thud into the wall, but he had other plans as he conjured all of his everything to score a free-kick that Lionel Messi would be proud of.
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By the time the celebrations were finished, though, the realisation that he is set to leave struck again.