Slavia Prague 0-0 Leicester City: Pros and cons of the diagonal pivot

I’d attest the clean sheet was due to some excellent defending by the Foxes, especially when understanding the individual decision-making of all four defenders. At times, they were all asked upon, without any of them making a single error. As such, Söyüncü was awarded Man of the Match via WhoScored.com with an impressive match rating of 8.2 – a clear lead on both Tielemans/Thomas (the next best) who ended the game with 7.2.

For what it’s worth, I thought the academy graduate was deserving of “MotM”. When he gambled on balls coming into Sima – receiving with his back to goal – Thomas would always correctly either knick the ball from the forward, or press him tightly. When under excessive pressure, he was often utilised in possession – particularly from left-sided centre-back, Söyüncü, and would either progress play down the line or win a foul (both relieving pressure). As I’ve previously mentioned, he also combined well with left-winger, Barnes, and was part of the most dangerous partnership for the Foxes. It was a good test for him, which I feel he passed with flying colours.

As for the overall performance, I’d suggest it was slightly subpar – as Rodgers also alluded too. The likes of James Maddison and Jamie Vardy were both non-existent for their time on the pitch (which isn’t always negative, but was versus Prague), and the possession-based attacks lost all impetus after half-time. The defensive solidity did holster the performance, and has given the Foxes a good chance of progressing from the second leg. But, we’ll be wanting much more quality in those attacking areas if we want to reach the heights of our potential in Europe.