Leicester City have completed their first round of UEFA Europa League fixtures with a perfect record, the Foxes have only conceded a single goal in three games. What did we learn, from a tactical standpoint, from the victory against SC Braga last night?
The winger compositions
Brendan Rodgers’ winger usage at Leicester City is fairly regiment. Ordinarily, they’re accompanying Jamie Vardy, a forward that likes to play on the shoulder of the defensive line, ready to exploit the space in behind. In last nights game against SC Braga, Kelechi Iheanacho was deployed as the focal point forward, but even with a contradictory style to the Foxes’ talisman, the wingers were still utilised in the same capacity.
Essentially, Rodgers wants both kinds of wingers present on the pitch at anytime, to facilitate a balance in the composition. Throughout the Leicester City squad, there’s a plethora of winger options – Harvey Barnes, Ayoze Pérez, Cengiz Ünder, James Maddison, and Dennis Praet. There’s also the out-of-favour, Demarai Gray, but his time with the Foxes is seemingly dwindling.
Of the five “usable” options, there’s a distinct way of splitting them up into two groups – there’s the direct runner, who likes to hold the wide positioning before attempting to beat his full-back one-on-one, and there’s the “false” winger, who plays between the lines and cuts inside to roam in the half-space.
To achieve maximum balance, Rodgers has opted to use one from both groups in all of his starting XI’s this season. In the first few games, it would be Barnes and Pérez – the former being the direct runner, and the latter being the “false” winger, but in recent outings it’s been Barnes and Praet – with Praet occupying the “false” winger role.
In yesterday’s game, it was Maddison and Ünder, with no surprise that the Turkish-international was the direct runner, and the English playmaker was the “false” winger. The theory behind this composition is that while the direct runner is stretching the defensive shape with their positioning and threat in behind, the “false” winger can drop into the half-space and collect the ball from midfield. By creating diagonal and vertical passing lanes, Leicester City are able to cut through presses and effectively bypass the oppositions midfield.
Interestingly, I think two direct runners would work alongside Iheanacho, but not Vardy. This is because the Nigerian naturally plays the role of the “false” winger, dropping off the defensive line to receive the ball with his back to goal, whereas Vardy is considered a direct runner. For the balance to work, Rodgers wants two direct runners and one dropping in between the lines, so playing Iheanacho in the middle could facilitate a Barnes and Under partnership on the wing. Think of this style in a similar sense to American Football, the “false” winger is the quarterback and the two direct runners are the full-backs.
The 3-4-3 may remain despite players returning
For the last half an hour of the game, after Wes Morgan’s introduction in the 62nd minute, Wesley Fofana played as the right-centre-back. This saw club captain, Morgan, operate as the central defender in the three, and maybe outlines how Leicester City will be structured with a wider array of fit personnel.
In recent weeks, Fofana has been used as the sole centre-back in the defensive three, partnered with two full-backs, James Justin and Christian Fuchs. This makeshift defensive unit has worked exceptionally, with all three pulling their weight, but the 19-year-old has showcased how much of a talent he really is.
His shift in the latter stages of the Braga fixture, saw him operate on the right-hand side. There’s been numerous reports that Jonny Evans is nearing a return to fitness, and Caglar Söyüncü’s injury isn’t “as serious” as was initially thought – so maybe a back three can remain with all of those included.
For me, Evans would have to be the central defender, as both Fofana and Söyüncü are aggressive in their pursuits of reclaiming possession (not a good attribute for the central defender) yet both have incredible recovery pace – something Evans isn’t as blessed with. When you’re playing as the wide centre-back, you’re often dragged into the wide areas to deal with the oppositions winger, having recovery pace is essential to dealing with this danger.
Tactically, I think the Foxes have understood the roles inside the 3-4-3, and have become a difficult side to beat. Reverting to the transitional 4-1-4-1/4-3-3 isn’t essential, and shouldn’t be forced if there’s fluidity in the current composition. Playing a defensive three also unlocks the true potential of both attacking wing-backs, Timothy Castagne and Ricardo Pereira – as their individual defensive work is of equal importance to their attacking play – the same can’t be said for the role of a full-back.
Hamza Choudhury role should always be in a double pivot
There’s numerous different combinations in the central midfield position, you can have a double pivot (two roaming 8’s that play box-to-box roles, when one of the two pushes forward, the other should have the awareness to sit deeper – maintaining balance and control), there’s a single defensive-midfielder approach (giving freedom to the players more advanced in the midfield, but restricting that player to just their defensive responsibilities).
You could have either of these combinations mixed around, two defensive-midfielders and a single 8 or 10. Brendan Rodgers has experimented with all of these options, and will continue to do so, enlisting different personnel in the roles to understand the best balance.
For me, Hamza Choudhury has shown his qualities in the double pivot. Whilst playing as the sole defensive-midfielder, Choudhury’s worst assets were exposed – slight naivety when to commit to a challenge/press, defensive awareness, and a reliance on being used in possession as the Foxes play through the midfield and as the defensive-midfielder he’s the first player they’ll look to pass into.
In the double pivot, all of these problems are alleviated. His commitment to challenges isn’t an issue, as the player in the pivot (like Youri Tielemans was yesterday) can sit deeper and allow Choudhury to hunt the ball back. I was also impressed with his awareness to danger, he accumulated 4 interceptions and 2 tackles (6 contributions) which was only surpassed by Justin (who had 7 interceptions and 3 tackles).
In possession, he was able to recycle the ball well. Positionally, he played as the left-sided central-midfielder, which allowed him to progress play down that side a lot easier than when he’s the defensive-midfielder. The angles are easier to find, and he’s got more freedom to maraud forward once receiving the ball – which given his sharp turn of pace, enables him to find advanced midfielders a lot more frequently.
His dynamism in the midfield adds another element of the Foxes squad, and he’ll consistently offer good rotations to any of the current starting XI. I think Leicester are seeing the process of excellent coaching, and that credit should go towards Brendan Rodgers. It was an excellent victory against an inform SC Braga side, I’m intrigued to see the tactical setup for the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.