How Leicester City kept their Champions League hopes alive by beating Sheffield United, the team who have conceded the second fewest goals in the division.
Brendan Rodgers‘ Leicester City team selection has come under a lot of scrutiny in recent times, and at first glance there was a big question mark to be raised.
Why was Kelechi Iheanacho dropped after being so impressive in recent matches? Well the answer was obvious a few minutes in.
Sheffield United play with a back three, a system the Foxes have been using recently, with the wide centre-backs bombing forward and outnumbering the opposing fullback. Playing a 3-5-2 would have simply played into United’s hands.
Playing Harvey Barnes and moving Ayoze Perez to the right hand side always meant that the Centre Backs were being marked out of the game, the play then stagnated and the long ball would come out. The additional benefit of playing Barnes is the extra pace to trouble any defence.
Due to injuries Leicester’s back three wasn’t exactly blessed with pace, but with United’s front two falling into that same category it played right into the Foxes hands. You get the feeling that any pace up front would cause many problems for Morgan and co.
Rodgers was calling for a reaction after an uncharacteristic collapse against Bournemouth, and he definitely got one.
The attitude was spot on from the first minute, battling for every second ball, with the Blades manager Chris Wilder saying that his side were ‘out-fought’ by the home side, something you don’t see very often. Aside from the work ethic and intensity, the quality of the football played by the former Champions was really impressive.
Youri Tielemans was back to his best in the middle of the park controlling the game and was easily the best players on the pitch. It’s so refreshing seeing him perform to the quality we all know he is capable of.
Perez, as always, was really good, getting in between the lines and finishing beautifully to give Leicester City the lead. Luke Thomas was also really impressive on debut starting at left-wingback. He was very composed on the ball, defended well especially in any aerial duels, and obviously he provided and excellent assist for Perez. It’s very easy to get excited about a youth player performing well in their first match, but it’s very exciting to see that this boy could very well replace Ben Chilwell if he leaves this summer.
The second half was very much a sit back and counter, which should have been very effective. Vardy was incredible on the ball yesterday evening setting up a number of opportunities for Harvey Barnes after he himself had already hit the post.
Barnes had two really good chances that he should have scored. If he can add finishing to his game he would easily be in the conversation for best wingers in the league.
You got the feeling that if it was roles reverse Leicester would have been 4-0 up in cruise control, instead it was an all too familiar feeling towards the end of the match.
Rodgers took Perez off and brought on defensive midfielder Hamza Choudhury on to bolster the midfield. Flashbacks to last weekend came flooding through to every Leicester fan with another defensive substitution. At the time I was screaming at the TV and questioning why he didn’t bring Demarai Gray on for Perez to go for the kill and get that crucial second goal.
Thankfully everyone could take a big sigh of relief when Gray, brought on for Barnes, slotted away yet another brilliant Vardy ball. That is definitely the best I have seen Vardy play for a long time. The unselfishness, work rate, and quality were all there and he was the main difference in the two sides.
The final 10 minutes were a formality, and everyone started to get excited again, now knowing that whatever happens this season, Leicester will get European football. However, everyone will want Champions League entry, given that the Foxes should have wrapped it up by now.
Tottenham represent a different challenge for Rodgers’ side. Spurs aren’t in the best of form, but with an extra bit of pace at the top end of the pitch, it will no doubt be a tough game. One that will be even tougher now that James Maddison and Ben Chilwell are out for the rest of the season. It’s going to be nerve jangling and squeaky bum time for the remainder of the campaign for Leicester City.