5 things that went wrong in Leicester’s 0-3 loss to West Ham

Leicester City don’t have a plan B

For the first ten minutes or so, I was fairly confident in Leicester’s ability to fell the Hammers today. Long balls seemed to test the pace of the Londoners’ back three and stretch them out wide, while David Moyes’ men couldn’t forge much of a foothold in City’s half. However, as time passed, the East London club seemed to settle into the game much more as they figured out Rodgers’s approach and grew in confidence.

The Hammers’ back three scuppered through ball after though ball from the Foxes, to the point where it looked almost routine for them. Despite this, in addition to going 0-2 down inside of 35 minutes, Leicester didn’t make a change until 55 minutes in, when Daniel Amartey was forced off through injury. Kelechi Iheanacho came on for Ayoze Pérez ten minutes later, but City’s approach still didn’t seem to change.

Leicester can be rather lacklustre when attacking from the wings and resultantly seemed insistent on playing through the middle, becoming predictable and easily dealt with by Moyes’ men. If the Foxes don’t add more strings to their bow this season through fresh signings or tactics, then they might find themselves easily countered by their Premier League contemporaries.

The Foxes still struggle breaking down low blocks

As mentioned in my last point, Leicester City can be lacklustre at the best of times when attacking from the wings. On top of this, Jamie Vardy’s quality through the middle is proving to be a double-edged sword, as Leicester’s wing play now seems sorely underdeveloped in comparison. Once again, today’s match can draw likeness to the Cardiff game of 2018. In the ‘bigger’ fixtures leading up to both games, Leicester were the underdogs, utilising vast amounts of space on the counter-attack, while in the games where Leicester are favourites, they enjoyed more possession but did little to convert this into goals.

It seems that the Foxes got a taste of their own medicine today, as they proved completely ineffective breaking through the middle of the Hammers’ back three, with no options out wide. If Leicester truly want to kick on and establish themselves as a member of the ‘big six’, then they need to become more comfortable breaking down ‘bigger’ and ‘smaller’ opponents.

Two years later, Leicester City are still struggling with many of the problems that plagued them in 2018, but nonetheless look a much better side. With the Europa League on the horizon and a favourable group draw, Leicester had better dispel their apparent losing mentality when they enter a match as favourites sooner rather than later.