Leicester City succumbed to one of their worst performances of the season being soundly beaten by a well organised and well motivated Newcastle with a result that flattered the foxes.
A truly dreadful display from Leicester opened the door wider for the chasing Champions League pack in an atrocious performance that fans are already coining “Bournemouth 2.0”. With Jonny Evans injured in the warm up, Brendan Rodgers reshuffled his pack to be thoroughly let down by a truly horrific and worrying performance from players that aspire to be playing the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona next season.
If this performance is any indicator of what is to come then Leicester may well be struggling to get anything this season and another opportunity might go missed. So how did the players fare?
Kasper Schmeichel – 5
A truly world class save at 0-0 from Allan Saint-Maximin stopped this being lower. Wasn’t commanding his area in any way and seemed scared to leave his line which cost Leicester City and both the second and arguably third goals. Didn’t start attacks quickly enough either.
Caglar Soyuncu – 3
Where to start. The Cruyff-turn that cost us the first goal, the complete lack of positional awareness both inside and outside the box, the petulant fouls. If you think 3/10 is a bit harsh go and watch how fast he ran back to defend for goals three and four.
Wesley Fofana – 5
Not quite as bad as his Turkish teammate but still an abject performance of chasing shadows and poor marking especially for goal two. Also, should have scored a clear header. If his form improves post-Ramadan, we might understand how hard he is working his body during his fasting.
Timothy Castagne – 5
Drew the short straw as the replacement centre back in Evans absence. Was arguably still the best of the back line but still lacked positional knowledge and was caught out for goal three when his underfoot back-pass left Callum Wilson through on goal.
Marc Albrighton – 6
A tough task to come in at the eleventh hour and try to provide necessary width to a Newcastle team squeezing the wings hard. Could and perhaps should have got more crosses in, but took his goal beautifully.
James Maddison – 3
Not fit. Constantly with his back to goal. Too busy admiring his technique on short passes. Rarely adopted the number ten areas and not once did he try and dribble past a Newcastle player. Is he worried about getting injured for the cup final or his next club?
Youri Tielemans – 4
One of the few Leicester City players that looked motivated but offered little creatively in key areas. Seemed to be doing the work of two midfielders
Wilfred Ndidi – 4
Anonymous for much of the game bar a header that should have gone in. Subbed late on.
Ricardo Pereira – 4
Unable to penetrate the wings in his traditional fashion. Hasn’t had a truly good game since returning from injury. Lost the ball for the counter attack.
Jamie Vardy – 5
Struggled to make any real impression on Newcastle’s back line. Fluffed a volley in the first half and hit shots wide. Set up Albrighton for his goal but Vardy’s own goalscoring form is becoming an issue.
Kelechi Iheanacho – 6
A muted performance that was mainly about dropping deep and trying to bring players into the game. Not the infectious performance we’re used to. But once again, nice goal.
Substitues
Ayoze Perez – 6
Livened the game up when he came on and occupied areas in his former clubs back line that Maddison failed to. Should have scored if not for a remarkable Dubravka save. Rodgers must be considering playing him over Maddison at Old Trafford.
Luke Thomas – 6
Did some good work down the wings but not enough to make any significant impact. You can see why he is playing more whilst Ricardo struggles for form.
Nampalys Mendy – 5
A token gesture substitution that nearly cost yet another goal with Mendy dwelling on the ball. Offers nothing going forward and is a defensive midfielder to his core. Didn’t concede and we scored two goals when he came on, maybe Nampalys is the answer?