Foxes of Leicester
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Leicester 1-3 Leeds: player ratings; Foxes falter without Vardy

By Joe Reilly

A dejected Youri Tielemans of Leicester City (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)
A dejected Youri Tielemans of Leicester City (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City
Leicester City’s English midfielder Harvey Barnes (R) celebrates with English midfielder James Maddison (L) after scoring the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Leeds United at King Power Stadium in Leicester, central England on January 31, 2021. (Photo by Michael Regan / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by MICHAEL REGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Attack and substitutes

James Maddison- 7

One of Leicester City’s better performers today, Maddison linked up superbly with Barnes for the game’s opener and consistently found strong attacking positions. If everybody was on his wavelength today it would’ve been a very different game indeed.

Marc Albrighton- 6

I’ve spoken recently about how important Albrighton is to this team, but I can’t help feeling that starting him was the wrong option today. Leicester’s No.11 works best as a supporting player, and with no Jamie Vardy, Cengiz Ünder should have been give the nod to day to increase the Foxes’ attacking threat. That said, he tried in earnest to trouble Leeds’ defence, but seemed to pick the wrong option at times.

Harvey Barnes- 7

Much like Maddison, Harvey Barnes seemed to be one of the only City players with some attacking intent today. Found ample space down the left hand side and made some excellent runs from deep but always received the ball too late to do anything with it.

Ayoze Pérez- 5

Failing to trouble Marcelo Bielsa’s back four whatsoever, it’s miracle that the Spaniard was allowed to play the full 90. Though the same can be said of Jamie Vardy at times, the Englishman’s reputation and penetrating runs alone draw space for team mates, whereas Pérez seemed to drop deeper and deeper as the game went on, with Maddison often ahead of the centre-forward at times. With a performance like that, Kelechi Iheanacho is sure to get some minutes soon.

Ricardo Pereira- 6

Came on for the injured Castagne and played his best football after moving to wing-back, making some good runs on both the outside and inside of left-back Ezgjan Alioski. It’s good to see him approaching full fitness, and considering Leicester City’s strength at full-back, I’d like to see him play in an advanced role more often.

Çağlar Söyüncü- 6

Despite conceding two goals in the second half, I believe that Leicester looked stronger with a back three this afternoon. Of course, this can’t all be attributed to the Turk, but to me he looked like the most composed of the three today.

light. Must Read. Leicester 1-3 Leeds: 3 things we learned

Cengiz Ünder- 6

Too little too late for Söyüncü’s compatriot, as once again the winger was introduced far too late in the game to impact it. Should have been introduced much earlier today, as in the absence of Jamie Vardy he’s one of the few players in the squad with a true directness to his game.