Leicester 2-1 Palace: Tactically adaptable Foxes push towards UCL

Leicester City’s UEFA Champions League dreams remain intact after an impressive second-half comeback rewarded the Foxes with all three points against Crystal Palace. How did Brendan Rodgers adapt his side to achieve maximum points?

To understand the adaptations, I shall highlight the approach first-half from the Foxes, Crystal Palace’s intended structure to negate Leicester City’s progressive actions and why a change of style and tactics was needed ahead of the second-half.

Unsurprisingly, Leicester City started the game inside the 3-4-1-2 formation – with the exact same personnel – as the XI that easily bypassed West Bromwich Albion four days prior. James Maddison retained his spot as the number 10, with Luke Thomas and Timothy Castagne providing the width for Brendan Rodgers’ side as the wing-backs.

Roy Hodgson opted for a 4-5-1 structure out of possession, which quickly transitioned into a narrow 4-3-3 once on the ball. The key player to trigger this shift was Luka Milivojević (the Crystal Palace captain), as his role as the central-midfielder in the 4-5-1 became the lone defensive-midfielder in the 4-3-3. Upon reception, Milivojević would look to play vertically through the lines, quickly, and into the narrow front three or an onrushing attacking midfielder (Eberechi Eze).