A stunning James Rodríguez goal was levelled out by a calamitous goalkeeping error from Jordan Pickford – as the points were shared at Goodison Park, but did Leicester City deserve more from the game?
It was a dominant performance on the road for the Foxes, who have often deployed cautious systems away from the King Power Stadium – to great success. Instead, Brendan Rodgers’ side controlled the ball and the game – which isn’t the same thing. You can have “x” amount more possession than your opposition, and still not control the game. Take Leicester City’s game versus Manchester City earlier in the season, the Foxes were able to control the fixture without seeing much of the ball – the Citizens seemingly camped inside the Leicester City half without creating anything clear cut (even their goals were from set-pieces), which the Foxes wanted as it allowed great success in the transition.
I say this for two reasons, in support of Jose Mourinho’s sentiment that England, and the English media, are obsessed with teams dominating possession when it doesn’t in fact translate into points – which is true, although teams that control possession do tend to be more successful in nature (but that’s down to quality of player). But, this can’t be said for the game yesterday evening on Merseyside. Leicester City controlled both elements, and that’s why I feel Carlo Ancelotti’s side will be the happier of the two – despite leading the game for 40 minutes.
Whether it’s due to injuries or not, Everton’s four at the back is composed of four central defenders, with Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey playing as the wider defenders. Consequently, Ancelotti’s side are quite narrow and compact, and often play in a recognised deep-block – particularly when leading. Until the opening goal, which as I mentioned earlier was an incredible moment of quality from James Rodríguez, there was only one team playing football – and that was Rodgers’ Foxes.
Harvey Barnes and Marc Albrighton, Leicester City’s starting wingers, played in an unfamiliar role – both as inside forwards. There’s been a few occasions that Barnes has been deployed either in this role or position, but to have both operating in more central areas (or the half-spaces) was unconventional. This did allow the full-backs, Timothy Castagne and James Justin, more freedom to occupy more advanced positions – whilst still remaining wary of the counter attacks through Rodríguez and Richarlison. Ordinarily, Rodgers opts for an inside forward and a wide-winger as a balance.
Early on this was fruitful, especially down the left-side. Barnes was finding a lot of joy receiving the ball between the midfield and defensive line (of Everton’s 4-4-2) and driving into the space – whilst also bypassing any defenders attempting to stop him. Although it didn’t result in any concrete chances, he was fouled multiple times allowing Leicester City opportunities from dead ball situations.
The complexity of the tie grew tenfold once behind – due to Ancelotti asking his side to sit even deeper with an advantage, but the injury to Wilfred Ndidi made the deficit feel like an almost impossible mountain to overcome. Alongside the Italian managers “defensively orientated” system, Everton have also become exceptional at disrupting the fluidity of matches – either though fouls, being fouled or playing for set-pieces. Losing the presence of the Nigerian, and replacing him with Nampalys Mendy, made the home side even more dominant in their physical endeavours.
A bright start to the second-half, which saw Leicester City return to their energetic high-press, essentially trapped Everton inside their own half, making their deep-block very compact. This was slightly ineffective for Rodgers’ side, as the afforded spaces the Foxes were able to create were all positioned in front of the defensive line – and the absence of Jamie Vardy removed any intention of running behind this line. The substitution of Cengiz Ünder changed this, as the Turkish-international threatens the space behind the compact block by moving on the shoulder.
An issue Rodgers has to solve with Ünder is his wasteful nature in the final third. We’ve seen glimpses of brilliance, particularly when he’s been unselfish – the two assists for Vardy away at Arsenal and Leeds United encapsulate this, but too often his space creation (through a body feint/manipulation or dribble) will lead to a “ridiculous” shot on goal. If Ünder can remove these moments of madness after an excellent piece of skill, the Foxes will have an explosive winger at their disposal. It’s a careful balance from Rodgers though, you don’t want to remove his unpredictability and instinctive ball-carrying, but he’ll also want his winger to make the correct decision more times than not – and I can honestly say he’s struggling in that department currently.
Youri Tielemans’ equaliser – which slightly preceded the introduction of Ünder, was a moment of good fortune. Jordan Pickford’s characteristic error with regards to shot-stopping allowed a fairly simple effort from the Belgian to ricochet into the goal. Even if the strike didn’t deserve it, Leicester City had definitely created enough in the game to be level. Until the closing stages, which did offer a few moments for the home side, the Foxes looked destined to push on and take all three points.
In previous games this season versus the deep-block, Leicester City have struggled to consistently create chances but that wasn’t an issue. A deployment from Rodgers was the use of “wall passes/bounce passes” – which in its simplest form is a one-two. The difference is, the initial pass is played forwards – often from a central defender – into the midfield. Instead of taking a touch and scanning for passing lanes, the midfielder will return the ball to the central defender by using a one-touch pass. The reason for doing so is that it gives space to the defender, allowing them to progress play through the lines.
Often, Jonny Evans or Wesley Fofana would be pressed by Dominic Calvert-Lewin or Richarlison, but as the remainder of Everton’s team were playing in their compact 4-4-2 formation, once the ball was played into midfield both forwards would track the ball rather than the midfield pushing to aid their press. By returning the ball to Evans and Fofana first-timed, they’re no longer being pressed by the forwards and can look to instigate an attack. It’s simple, viable and was effective against Everton – potentially another style to play through a deep-block for the Foxes.
Regardless, this will be irrelevant for their next game against Leeds United. Perhaps the most unorthodox high-pressing unit in the league, that also defends man-to-man. Leicester should find joy in the transitions, and there will be a lot of them, but the Lilywhites do offer extremely good attacking prowess in the counter. I don’t expect an emphatic victory – like the game at Elland Road, but I feel confident Rodgers and the Foxes will overcome Marcelo Bielsa. If Ndidi is fit, it’ll be a formality.