Why Kelechi Iheanacho was withdrawn in first-half for Leicester v Norwich

Kelechi Iheanacho was substituted after being involved in a first-half melee, during Leicester City’s draw with Norwich City.

Unfortunately Leicester City drew with Norwich last weekend, therefore their eight-match winning streak ended abruptly. 1-1 was the final score as a Tim Krul own-goal and Teemu Pukki finish ensured honours were even.

King Power Stadium was nowhere near its loudest for the contest; it almost seemed as though the rather lethargic approach from some Foxes players effected the crowd. Those individuals in the team who weren’t quite so vigorous can be forgiven as they have been on a superb run. Not to mention that they may be suffering from mild exhaustion.

At Foxes of Leicester, we expect to see more rotation from Brendan Rodgers but the manager will most likely revert to the more tried and tested 4-3-3 formation for the Manchester City clash. Playing the Citizens next is a fixture for which the Leicester City squad will more than motivated for.

Kelechi Iheanacho and Leicester City

Talking of returning to certain things, the Northern Irish gaffer recently revitalized an almost forgotten man on Filbert Way. Kelechi Iheanacho wasn’t used at all by Leicester this season in the Premier League, until he gave a captivating as well as match-winning performance versus Everton. In that game he entered as a substitute and departed with a goal and an assist, plus three points for his team.

Sadly, following another great premiership display from the Nigerian in the Aston Villa meeting, he was withdrawn from the Norwich match in the first-half after playing just 38 minutes. Before he was substituted, Iheanacho was on the receiving end of some stick from the Canaries.

The forward was accused of unfair play by the opposition after not giving the ball back. This was due to a throw-in to treat an injured man. However, despite bringing his striker off directly subsequent to the incident, Leicester‘s boss said the melee was not consequential to the substituting:

"“He [Iheanacho] totally misread that situation and the ball should go back [to Norwich], thankfully nothing came of it.“We wanted to switch to 4-3-3 and I could either leave it and wait until half-time or make the change when I did. It was purely tactical and he understood, it was nothing personal. I don’t know what he was thinking, but he’s [Iheanacho’s] an honest boy.”– Brendan RodgersVia: The Telegraph"