3 things learned from Leicester City’s defeat to Manchester United

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LEICESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 03: Marcus Rashford of Manchester United celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Manchester United at The King Power Stadium on February 3, 2019 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /

Defensive naivety costs Leicester City once again

City have won a whopping 13 points from losing positions this season, more than any other club in the Premier League. Despite the impressiveness of this stat, the primary reason for it is that the ball usually ends up in Leicester’s net within the first quarter of an hour.

For the fifth competitive game in a row, the Foxes have found themselves behind within the first 11 minutes of a game. The root of this issue appears to be a combination of defensive naivety, low confidence and a complete lack of concentration in the opening stages.

A prime example of City’s unsophisticated defending, compiled by the abundance of youth in their squad, was seen in the buildup to Marcus Rashford’s opener on Sunday. Instead of clearing the ball to a wider area, Ricardo Pereira attempted to overplay by cutting a pass inside to Papy Mendy. Paul Pogba intercepted before deftly setting up Rashford to break the deadlock, just moments after heading over a glaring opportunity.

The most frustrating aspect of this problem is that we know just how solid that defence can be, even in the same game. For example, the central partnership of Maguire and Evans has proven to be effective for prolonged periods; while offering more consistency than Wes Morgan. In the last two games, the pair averaged 12 clearances and 4.5 aerial wins – statistics come via WhoScored.

It seems in the case of the aforementioned centre halves, the problem is a lack of both concentration early in games, and a lack of confidence. If this is the case, the best solution would be to give the back four time to develop cohesiveness and get behind them. The likes of Pereira, Maguire, Evans and Chilwell certainly have the makings of a top Premier League defence.

In a recent interview, Chilwell echoed these sentiments:

"“The fans expect results which is understandable but it’s a young team which is learning.” “We’re not scrapping in a relegation battle. We’re doing okay, playing good football and getting results against the bigger teams.” “It would be nice if they were patient with us but you can understand they expect results with the quality we have got.” via Leicester Mercury"

In conclusion, Leicester’s current defence will continue to learn and improve given time as a unit. They just need to be smarter in how they use the ball in their own third, especially in the opening stages.