Zorya Luhansk 1-0 Leicester: Poor decision-making from Foxes

After dealing with Çağlar Söyüncü’s injury – which was devastating to witness, the Foxes grew into the game. In all honesty, I think the Leicester City back room staff were a little caught off guard by the conditions – as shown by Ricardo Pereira’s early withdrawal at half-time. It was the “perfect” fixture to bring the players back, as the result didn’t matter and all three had completed the appropriate fitness tests to return into the squad, but playing on a slippery pitch in freezing temperatures is a recipe for disaster.

In the moments where Leicester City started to get into the game, Cengiz Ünder would receive possession in the right half-space more frequently, but unfortunately for Brendan Rodgers, the Turkish-international favoured hopeful long shots, instead of rotating possession to create a good opportunity. This was the main fault for Leicester, wasteful decision-making in the final third.

It’s undeniable that the Foxes had enough quality to play through Luhansk. But, for whatever reason, as soon as the ball reached the final third they’d opt for a shot instead of interplaying with the surrounding forwards. This is particularly frustrating with Ünder, as although his long shot ability is good (evidence being the late strike that was well saved for a corner), he’s exceptional at receiving the ball in tight-spaces, he’s got quick feet, and has a smart delivery of crosses into the box – we never truly witnessed these assets because of his greediness with shooting opportunities.

In the attacking sequences, Leicester City’s movement was so stagnant. I place a lot of this on the fluctuating starting XI’s and the constant change of personnel in the squad – which is required in the COVID-19 era, but also with the fixture congestion for the Foxes. With that being said, there was no advancing runners into the box from midfield, nor behind the defensive line from the forwards. Ünder and Harvey Barnes rotated around the half-spaces and gave a cutback passing lane out-wide – mainly to receive from an advancing full-back, but nothing with any real intention of creating a goal.