Going out in style: Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City and the future
A wild game ended in disappointment as Leicester City lost 5-4 against Tottenham Hotspur. However, the spirit of the Foxes was alive and well, as their terrific performance may be enough to save Claude Puel’s job.
A back and forth match between Leicester and Tottenham saw two quality teams go toe-to-toe. To say this game was a moral victory for Leicester is cliché. However, by reverting back to a counter attacking style of play the Foxes proved two things: Firstly, they can compete against top of the table clubs, and secondly, the East Midlands outfit is truly the “best of the rest”.
Going out in style: Leicester City Vs Tottenham Hotspur
A nine goal extravaganza ended the Premier League season in style for Leicester and Tottenham.
Jamie Vardy finished his season with two goals against Spurs. A set piece header in the 3rd minute and another one scored on the break in the 73rd minute ended the English international’s Premier League season with 20 goals.
All in all, the World Cup bound striker was fourth in goals scored this Premier League season, only behind Mohamed Salah (32), Harry Kane (30), and Sergio Aguero (21).
Riyad Mahrez and Kelechi Iheanacho also contributed to the goalfest. A pinball-esque ball fell at the feet of Mahrez was vigorously struck for goal inside the box at the 16th minute by Mahrez, whereas Kelechi Iheanacho hit a screamer to start off the second half for a goal that had the Foxes leading 3-1 at the time. However, unfortunate moments ultimately led to the Foxes downfall.
A Christian Fuchs own goal in the 53rd minute and an unlucky deflection off the chest of Demarai Gray led to an Erik Lamela goal in the 60th minute. The final goal of the game came from Golden Boot runner-up Harry Kane, who crossed up Hamza Choudhury and scored in the 76th minute. That strike finalized the scoring at 5-4, with Tottenham beating Leicester. However, the Leicester offense was fluid and effective, even if the result was undesirable.
Going back to basics
Claude Puel reverted back to the tactics that he used to beat Arsenal on Wednesday. By having less possession, Leicester City were able to use the rope-a-dope tactics and counter-attacking play that won them the title two seasons ago.
Much like the game against Arsenal, Leicester willingly let Tottenham possess the ball. The Foxes controlled only had 35.1% of the possession and had less touches and passes then the Spurs. However, they outshot Mauricio Pochettino’s sid and had more shots on target with 9 to Spu
Though Leicester did not win, the Foxes were the dominating club at times and could have beat a Tottenham side that ended the Premier League in third place.
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The problem with the possession game
Much has been made about the recent form of Leicester City when Puel implements his possession based tactics. It was nice to see the Foxes play football in a more proper way, but Leicester were not winning.
In the five games before their match against Arsenal, Leicester were pathetic. Claude Puel was justifiably on the hot seat, as the displays were lacklustre at best. Leicester consistently dominated the statistics columns, but only achieved one point out of 15.
Pace Vs possession
When Leicester City were playing Puel’s possession game, they could not buy a goal if they wanted to. Before the win against Arsenal, the previous five game saw Leicester average 57.1% possession per game. Leicester shot the ball 53 times in those games. However, only 13 of those shots were on target, leading to an on target percentage of 24.5%. Along with that, Leicester only scored twice in those five games, and lost four of them.
The games against Arsenal and Tottenham saw a very different and pace driven offense. In those two games, Leicester’s possession averaged 37.8%. However, the offense was clinical. The Foxes shot 35 times against the Gunners and 28 against Spurs. Out of those 35 shots, 19 of them were on target. That is an on target percentage of 54.3%. Most notably, the Foxes scored seven times against two of the best teams in England.
When Leicester City are playing their counter attack style of football, they are a club to be reckoned with. If Puel can continue this form, then the future looks bright for the Foxes in the 2018/19 season. However, two quality games may not be enough to save the Frenchman.
An exciting but foggy future
Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and the Leicester City board have a tough decision to make. What was once a clear choice of sacking Puel a week ago is now in limbo.
Claude Puel maybe has the support of the players. The spirit and quality of the Foxes’ form shows that Leicester’s is a squad that can crack the top seven. However, reports of Puel being replaced by the likes of Rafa Benitez and David Wagner have surfaced. Claude Puel has led Leicester to great highs and terrible lows. His future is uncertain.
This summer is an important one, as the club is willing to spend money on top quality players to come to the East Midlands. If Puel is the manager of the future, the Leicester Board will be rolling the dice with a gaffer that has shown poor quality at points. However, if sacked, Puel would be the fourth Leicester manager fired in four years.
Next: Tottenham Hotspur 5-4 Leicester City: Three things we learned
Consistency is key. If Leicester City are to be a great club they need to find a manager and stick with them for a couple of seasons at least. Puel has shown he is the man for the job.
If he can consistently produce performances like the ones we saw against Arsenal and Tottenham, then the goals of next season should be a Europa League spot, a seventh place finish, and a minimum of 50 points. Expectations are high for Leicester, and Puel wants the challenge. Will he succeed? It’s up to the Leicester Board to find out.