Marcelo Bielsa’s name has been added to an ever expanding list of managers that have been outclassed by Leicester City manager, Brendan Rodgers, as the Foxes left Elland Road victorious on Monday night.
The set up versus Leeds United wasn’t too dissimilar to the successful deployments that brought maximum points from their games against Manchester City and Arsenal – with a major similarity being that all fixtures were played away from home.
All three matches saw the Foxes utilise a transitional back three, that would become a back five in the defensive phases. I think it’s important, and has been widely recognised already, to outline how well Brendan Rodgers has done to maximise the quality of this weakened Leicester side.
Converting experienced winger, Marc Albrighton, to a wing-back is the perfect example of great coaching from Rodgers. He’s optimising the 30-year-old’s usage by playing him deeper – as his creativity in the final third isn’t as good as it used to be, but he’s very good at tracking his man and understanding the dangers of runners in behind him.
He was instrumental in the Foxes 3-4-3 formation, that could resort to a 5-4-1 out of possession. To initiate a 3-4-3 formation in the attacking phase, you need the wing-backs to progress into the midfield/forward line, and Albrighton epitomises the desire and energy to achieve this.
In the previous aforementioned fixtures, Timothy Castagne would excel in this role, acquiring assists and goals for his willingness to impact in the final third. Again, this was proven by Albrighton getting the pre-assist for Tielemans first goal, which would’ve counted as an actual assist if goalkeeper, Illan Meslier, hadn’t made an exceptional save from Jamie Vardy’s header.
The deployment against The Peacocks was slightly different to Rodgers’ games versus Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola, as Vardy was tasked with splitting his press between the two centre-backs (Liam Cooper and Robin Koch) and the defensive-midfielder, Mateusz Klich. With the previous games, Vardy was solely deployed on the defensive-midfielder – Thomas Partey and Rodri.
This neutralised the bounce pass option for the midfielders and defenders to utilise, and instead forced them to play quickly through the lines – which both sides (Manchester City and Arsenal) struggled with. Instead, Rodgers decided that occupying the defenders was of equal importance to Bielsa’s diagonal, and vertical, passing game. This proved to be very effective.
A very crucial nuance is that when the Foxes are playing the 3-4-3 formation, they’re deploying an attacking-midfielder as one of the wingers – ordinarily, Dennis Praet or James Maddison. By doing this, the Foxes are creating more of a 3-4-1-2 with this movement, especially when Maddison plays in between the lines. This forces the marking full-back to either commit inside and track the runner (but as a negative, they’re vacating the width) or hold their position and give a lot of freedom to the attacker.
On the opposing wing is either Harvey Barnes or Cengiz Ünder, who’s on the shoulder movement pins the defensive line deeper. By stretching the pitch, they’re allowing the Foxes more space in the middle of the park – it’s no wonder that the “decoy” winger and advancing midfielder (Youri Tielemans) are enjoying excellent seasons so far this season. There’s so much room to operate in, and to create good quality of chances for the forwards.
Defensively, deploying the two deep blocks was a good way of dealing with Bielsa’s notorious 3-3-1-3 formation. It neutralised nearly all of the midfield runners, hence why Bielsa turned to the bench at half-time and replaced Jamie Shackleton (one of the midfield runners) with Ian Poveda – a direct, progressive winger. The clearest indicator that the two deep lines of defence were difficult to penetrate, Bielsa deduced the wings would be more effective – and achieved the same result – not a lot.
The quality of coaching under Rodgers is fantastic, it’s truest testament being the performance level of the peripheral players in the squad. But, I think it’s important to appreciate how well the Leicester City players are playing at the moment. The recruited players; Wesley Fofana, Cengiz Ünder, and Timothy Castagne have all proven their worth immeasurably – with the former being the sole centre-back in the defensive three versus Leeds, and commanding his troops, aged 19. Outrageous.
Some of the “outcasts” have come into the starting XI this season and have been immense, Daniel Amartey was exemplary in the game at The Etihad, and would be a key component of the back line had he not picked up a hamstring injury.
If there was a shortlist for Player of The Season tomorrow, not sure why there would be but, Nampalys Mendy would have my vote. Prior to Wilfred Ndidi’s injury to his abductor muscle, Mendy wasn’t even going to commit to another contract at The King Power Stadium. However, Rodgers outlined the importance of the Frenchman as a squad player, and with the injury to Ndidi, he’s become an integral part of Leicester success this season.
Seven game weeks into the season, and the Foxes reside in second place, only behind last years winners, Liverpool. When you consider the difficulties of balancing additional competitions – such as the UEFA Europa League – and all the unfortunate injuries, to be placed so positively is remarkable. To celebrate, an enjoyable fixture against SC Braga awaits Leicester City, a win would see the club continue their perfect start to a European campaign. What a time to be a Fox.