Braga 3-3 Leicester: a game of two halves for the Foxes

In contrast, the second-half – which saw Youri Tielemans replace Praet in the Leicester City double pivot and, eventually, James Maddison replace Barnes/Under – seemed much more fluid. Initially, you’ve got a progressive passer in the pivot (Tielemans) and you’ve got a player who operates in the half-spaces and between the lines (Maddison) to enable different transitions of the ball, not just linear long-balls.

It’s no surprise that Maddison was an integral part of the second and third goal, with Tielemans dictating the tempo of the game as soon as he arrived on the pitch. The “experimental” front-line didn’t work for Rodgers, for the reasons I’ve already mentioned but also because of the frequent turnovers of possession.

In the defensive structure, Iheanacho was tasked with juggling two of the three centre-backs for SC Braga. This meant that whenever there was a quick turnover in possession and the Foxes transitioned into their attacking structure, Iheanacho would be on the defensive line – not dropping into the number 10 role and creating attacks. With Under and Barnes naturally playing very advanced, a lot of the positive turnovers for Leicester City actually ended up being turned over themselves because they lacked a linking player.

When Vardy plays, it’s not his job to shift from pressing the centre-backs to connecting the play from midfield to attack, so if there’s a quick turnover he can make an instinctive run behind the defenders and launch a counterattack. Instead, he’s got Maddison or Praet drifting into the half-space to help progress the ball – without a winger of this profile the Foxes really struggled to build anything. For instance, the first goal was more of a mistake from SC Braga, rather than an excellent piece of build-up – it was a very well taken opportunity by Barnes.