Leicester City’s unbeaten run in 2021 – which spanned over seven matches – finally came to an end at the King Power Stadium versus Leeds United, as Marcelo Bielsa’s side deservedly won 1-3.
Brendan Rodgers had to make some key changes to the side that drew with Everton, particularly in defensive midfield, with Wilfred Ndidi expected to be sidelined for the next few weeks – his replacement was Nampalys Mendy. With Jamie Vardy still absent, Rodgers had the choice of either Ayoze Pérez (as a false nine) or Kelechi Iheanacho, with the Spaniard getting the nod.
Jonny Evans’ slight injury – which resulted in a late substitution in the previous game – wasn’t enough of an issue to force him onto the bench, so he partnered Wesley Fofana at centre-back, with Leicester City going for their “standard” 4-2-3-1 formation. This was despite facing Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United – who play on the front foot and instigate a press than involves going man-for-man across the park.
As expected, the game was very end-to-end in the beginning, with both sides imposing themselves on the game physically. Harvey Barnes’ opening goal was a direct result of a transition in the Foxes favour, as he glided through the first two Leeds defenders before linking up brilliantly with James Maddison.
What allowed the 23-year-old to find the finish was his clever close control touches and body manipulation – which caught Illan Meslier by surprise. He received the ball whilst running into the box, but after a few touches in quick succession (and with the ball still underneath his body) he manipulated his body to allow a quick strike across goal – this is what enabled a relatively weak strike to find the far corner.
Unfortunately for Leicester City, a quick equaliser from Leeds – something they’re building a reputation for – and a loss of confidence/fluidity in the midfield, resulted in a downward spiral and ended with a loss. The transitions became more frequent, which only benefitted the away side and the Foxes couldn’t find a sustainable way of playing through the midfield.
In fairness to Rodgers, he attempted to shift the formation and structure of Leicester City to enable a more fluid way of finding the midfielders, as playing three centre backs (the shift at half-time was to adopt a 3-4-3 formation) forced Leeds to push a midfielder into the forward line to press. This freed up one of the double pivot (Mendy/Youri Tielemans) to receive the ball behind The Peacock’s press.
This alteration did reward Leicester with more control, and a few chances, but they couldn’t capitalise on this and inevitably played the price later into the game. Patrick Bamford (unexplainably) found space between the three centre-backs and finished with style. Raphinha – the Brazilian winger – enabled the goal with a quick ball through the Foxes defensive line, which was spread due to a quick turnover from a throw-in.
Uncharacteristic Leicester City
It was an uncharacteristically poor performance from both players operating in the No.10 position – Maddison and Pérez, who both found difficulties progressing the ball (via either a carry or pass). The former actually averaged a more advanced position than Pérez, but was at fault for two of the major turnovers in Leeds United’s favour. Sloppy passing into advanced areas caught Maddison out, and gave advantageous transitions to the opposition – who exploited and converted these chances with good efficiency.
The Foxes are yet to find the solution to Vardy’s absence (not just his goals – which I think has been subsidised – it’s his movement on the shoulder). The structure of attacks is very linear, all being played in front of the defensive line – with little threat behind. Even with his raw pace, Cengiz Ünder isn’t offering these movements consistently enough – instead he wants the ball to feet, as to create a shooting opportunity for himself. Which is quite easy to defend against, particularly as his shot creating space is on the inside, so he’s cutting across the pitch thus attracting players to press him. If he utilised this gravity (of attracting players) to then release one of the “free” attackers in an advanced area, he’d be a lot more threatening.
All in all, it was a disappointing afternoon. Leicester didn’t deserve anything from the game, as they attempted – and failed – to match Leeds’ intensity and made the game a lot easier for the travelling side. Rodgers will need to adjust his system to ensure the Foxes react positively against Fulham on Wednesday.