Leicester 1-0 Southampton: LCFC the disruptor of elite clubs

To make this system work, Southampton had to push their defensive line high as well, otherwise their would’ve been too much space between their midfield and defence – allowing Pérez a lot of freedom in his role between the lines. This deployment meant that the Foxes had a lot of space behind the Saints back line, as both centre-backs; Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek had to position themselves on the half-way line (when the ball was either in Southampton’s possession, or with the Foxes defence).

Instead of trying to force the ball through a congested area of the pitch – i.e. the Foxes defensive third, Leicester City just cut out the middle man and played direct/long. This unfortunately removed the involvement of orchestrator, Tielemans, despite the Belgian being influential in the first-half. He was able to create in the first-half due to his anticipation in the press, intercepting passes into midfield, or perfectly executing a tackle and carrying the ball after reception. He didn’t receive many passes from the defenders, which is uncommon for Rodgers’ side.

At times, this dependence on playing long looked weird, or uncharacteristic. Especially considering the tall, and aerially domineering centre-back partnership for Southampton would win most balls played in the air. Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho aren’t known for their presence in the air. Instead, the design was for the midfield – and Pérez – to collect second balls goal-side of the Saints midfield. Hasenhüttl’s side were exceptional at doing this to the Foxes themselves. Another caveat was how little Kasper Schmeichel played short from goal-kicks, favouring a long-ball into one of the channels. It was a clear tactical deployment from Rodgers.