How West Ham defeated Leicester 3-0: tactical analysis

What I mean by facilitating is, the angles Praet creates as a passing lane, the selfless nature of his movement – be it wide or beyond the defensive line, all have the same motive – creating space and options for the player in possession.

Without either of these in midfield, the progressive passer was Youri Tielemans, a player perfectly capable of making these passes. However, the construction of the team (a 3-4-3 in attacking sequences, and a 5-4-1 in defensive transitions) placed Tielemans and Nampalys Mendy as a deep pivot in the centre of the Leicester City midfield.

This meant that Praet’s role (connector of play) was split between the two inverted wingers, Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Pérez. Initially, this worked superbly – prior to the West Ham goal, both received the ball in good spaces and progressed play either through a carry or a pass.

As soon as the Michail Antonio goal went in, these spaces were neutralised. Declan Rice, who I personally thought was brilliant, plugged the two half-spaces that Pérez and Barnes were trying to operate in. I’m happy to give most of the credit to the England-international, but I also think Pérez and Barnes need to understand their roles in these stages of the play.