Leicester City’s perfect record in Europe was broken by SC Braga last time out, and now the Foxes have faced their first loss in the competition, a 1-0 defeat to Zorya Luhansk.
After confirming qualification with a draw in Portugal, Leicester City had the privilege of letting some key players stay at home for the trip to Ukraine. Amongst those were Jamie Vardy, Jonny Evans, Kasper Schmeichel, and Youri Tielemans. The latter two have been extremely busy this season, with congested games for their national teams alongside club football, with the Belgian definitely deserving his rest – however, his industry was sorely missed in the defeat.
Leicester City reverted to a four at the back formation, deploying two holding-midfielders – with Wilfred Ndidi returning to the starting XI. Structurally, it looked like a 4-2-3-1, as Hamza Choudhury seemed equally as deep in the midfield as Ndidi, with Dennis Praet slightly more advanced, playing in the number 10 role.
In the previous fixture in the UEFA Europa League, I stated that the Foxes didn’t have an on-the-ball presence in the double pivot (which consisted of Choudhury and Praet) and that situation wasn’t resolved by adding Ndidi into the centre of the pitch. Leicester City really missed a dictator of play, a Tielemans or Nampalys Mendy, who demand possession from the defenders and control the tempo of the game.
Instead, the opening exchanges were turnover-heavy, with both sides struggling to impose any control in the midfield – this was aided by Zorya Luhansk fielding central-midfielder, Dmytro Ivanisenya, at centre-back due to injuries for the Ukrainian side. This end-to-end opening didn’t favour the Foxes, as in the first 20 minutes, Zorya created four shots and had 62.1% possession.
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.
Leicester City’s brighter moments
In the brighter moments of the fixture, Leicester City had a couple of good exchanges – especially on the right. My man of the match was James Justin, again, and his connective play with Ünder was solid. Unfortunately, when the Foxes drew Zorya players into challenging them, they didn’t utilise the space they were creating on the opposing flank. For example, Ünder’s quality in possession naturally drew a couple of Luhansk players to attempt to tackle him (the best example of this being his incredible piece of skill between three players), then he’d combine with Justin – attracting another defender, and all of a sudden it would be two Leicester players versus four or five Zorya players.
In that scenario, there’s an overload on the opposing wing because Zorya have committed men towards Ünder and Justin, thus removing presence from Leicester City’s left-wing. There was so many occasions where Luke Thomas (left-back) was free during an attacking phase, and he wouldn’t be utilised. The Foxes need to learn that they’ve done the hard part by attracting a numerical overload from the opposition – a switch of play gives the east Midlanders their own numerical superiority and would reward them with higher percentage chances in the final third.
With all things considered, it’s quite natural to see a fluctuation in performances and results. Leicester haven’t been able to keep the same players in the starting XI for a while now, there’s always alterations – which for the most part Rodgers gets right.
I would’ve liked to see Ayoze Pérez make an appearance. I think he would’ve been excellent in between the lines – where there was a lot of space for the Foxes. Almost all of the “chances” came from shots around the 20-yard out mark, and that was a by-product of vacant space in those areas – had Pérez featured, I think he would’ve thrived in those areas. Plus, it would’ve given him some additional minutes, which I personally feel he deserves.
At the end of the day, a loss isn’t detrimental to Leicester’s UEFA Europa League campaign. Although, a good performance would’ve been nice. We’re now looking ahead to Sheffield United, who will probably operate in a deep-block in their defensive transitions. This will provide another test for the Foxes, but one that I hope Rodgers has got the answers for.