Leicester City fell victim to their own hype, as Brendan Rodgers couldn’t overcome his winless head-to-head record versus Carlo Ancelotti, with the Foxes losing at home – again – to Everton, 0-2.
It was another chance, in this weird and wonderful COVID-19 affected season, for Leicester City to claim top place, even if it would’ve been brief – as champions Liverpool reinstated their spot at the top of the table just hours later. But, as has been the case with previous chances, the Foxes didn’t perform to their esteemed heights and lost the game. It was exactly what you’d expect from a team that had played six games inside of 14 days – including a long-trip to Ukraine; exasperated, leggy, and struggling to dissect a stubborn defensive structure that Carlo Ancelotti has implemented at Everton.
Leicester City started the game in a fairly familiar 4-2-3-1, but there was some interesting choices inside of the starting XI. Firstly, Wilfred Ndidi dropped into the back four and accompanied Wesley Fofana as the two centre-backs. I think the Nigerian is an extremely capable centre-back, aside from the slight over-commitment from time-to-time – although his partner is similar, but his presence was severely missed in the centre of the Foxes midfield.
Of course, Ndidi brings exceptional numbers for tackles and interceptions, but he also brings dynamism and mobility that are both lacking without his inclusion. Too often, the first line of the Leicester City press, composing of Jamie Vardy, Harvey Barnes, Cengiz Ünder, and James Maddison was bypassed without the second line in close proximity – Nampalys Mendy and Youri Tielemans. With Ndidi, there’s an initiator, someone willing to press aggressively out of his position, but who is also successful at doing so. The perfect midfielder for a counter-pressing team.
Another intriguing decision by Brendan Rodgers was playing both Barnes and Ünder as the wingers. Admittedly, the Turkish-international seemed to tuck internally to try and initiate play in the half-spaces, but I’ve been vocal about the composition of these two winger profile’s not working together. However, that was inside the 3-4-3 formation, as inside the 4-2-3-1 you have an attacking-midfielder who can play the “connecting” role – such as Maddison. Even if it sort of worked compositionally, it didn’t provide the spark Rodgers would’ve anticipated.
The arrival of Ayoze Pérez, in the 61st minute, provided a better alternative. Leicester looked more dynamic, had an extra option willing to take his man on one-versus-one, and a clever, intricate ball-player around the box. His impression on the game was slight, I personally felt he deserved the penalty, but he showcased the correct balance in attack and hopefully highlighted the right composition for wingers in the future.
Unfortunately, the biggest issue for Leicester City is a problem that’s not easy to fix or overcome. The Foxes seem to be quite fragile mentally, and allow negative moments in games to adjust the balance of play. For example, Richarlison’s weak attempt from the top-of-the-box shouldn’t have opened the scoring in the game, but it did, and Leicester City never recovered from that moment.
In just thirteen games this season, the Foxes have gone behind six times (46.2%). This stat alone isn’t damning, but when you consider that within those fixtures, Leicester have only taken points from two of those games, it does start to paint a bleak picture once behind. Even worse still, the four games where the Foxes couldn’t overcome a deficit were all played at home – against relatively “beatable” opposition in the majority; Aston Villa, West Ham, Fulham, and Everton.
I’m aware that conceding the first goal is detrimental to every football team in world football, but Leicester City seem to lose all composure and combust. A very magnified example being the loss to Bournemouth in the twilight stages of last season, as soon as the score was levelled the Foxes lost all composure. This pattern is seemingly continuing into this campaign, and it’s worrying. I’m not expecting Leicester City to overcome adversity in every game they go behind, but I am expecting the free-flowing attacking football that prefaced the initial goal to remain – and it never seems to happen.
Next up is José Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur, a side that have effectively perfected the deep-block this season and will truly maximise the few chances they receive through Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son. I’d suggest this is the worst fixture the Foxes could face, a side willing to play with as little as 25% possession, but counter with quality and intent once they receive the ball, however, there’s always the argument that Leicester City will evolve a way of beating this system. Nevertheless, it will be a very tough test for Rodgers.
I’ve gone on record to say the Northern Irishman is one of the best managers in the world, particularly at setting his team up prior to a game. I’d be surprised if he hadn’t devised a way to deal with Spurs’ counterattacking prowess – as difficult as that may be. The return of Timothy Castagne, after eight weeks out with a hamstring injury, could be an essential piece of that solution. I have every confidence Leicester will surprise me again, I’m just hopeful it’s for the right reasons this time out.