A dire display saw Leicester City fall to a shock two-goal defeat at the hands of Newcastle United. Such a shocking defeat prompts unwelcome reminders of Leicester’s capitulation to Bournemouth last season. After all, both games happened in Gameweek 35 and Leicester’s fixtures afterwards included – Spurs and Manchester United. No Foxes fan needs to be reminded of last season’s events but the similarities are chilling.
Despite the presence of Khun Top Srivaddhanaprabha, who was attending his first game in over a year, LCFC instead put out their worst performance of the season. Having to watch this display must have been a massive disappointment for our Thai owner, who is a much-loved part of the football club.
From an evening where exasperation reigned, here are the best attempts to pick out the bones from a disastrous display.
1. A comedy of errors
No, this is not a review of a Shakespeare play, although the performance for much of the game had hallmarks of the aforementioned comedy.
Slapstick defending was certainly a significant reason for Leicester’s demise with two of the goals, in particular, caused by individual errors from Söyüncü and Castagne. Furthermore, without Evans, the defence, in general, looked as wobbly as jelly, which is another matter in itself.
Although not comedic compared to some of the other goals, the second represented another conceded from a set-piece, with Fofana the latest to lose his marker. Unsurprisingly, the Newcastle scorer Dummett had not scored for five years, continuing Leicester’s unfortunate habit of helping goal-shy players end their barren runs.
Even when taking the Newcastle goals out of the equation, Leicester made far too many errors in possession, not just in the way it was moved too slowly, but also in misplacing passes. Countless times, seemingly simple passes were put out of play or were behind their target. This helped to slow down the game and disrupt Leicester’s rhythm, whilst giving Newcastle’s defence a very easy job.
2. No Evans, no party
Brendan Rodgers has repeatedly referred to Jonny Evans as the “Brain in our defensive line” and his last-minute absence certainly affected the performance. Certainly, it is remiss to fully blame his absence on the loss, but its effect on Söyüncü and Fofana cannot be understated.
Without Evans’ calming presence, Leicester’s once-solid rearguard fell to pieces with the Turk, in particular, putting in a terrible performance. His lack of concentration and common sense for the first goal in trying to Cruyff turn when under pressure does stand out, and afterwards he looked increasingly jittery. It’s all well and good when such skills come off but there is a time and a place for ‘frills’.
Fofana was better in general, but his lack of understanding with his Turkish partner was sorely highlighted for Newcastle’s fourth goal. Playing the offside trap requires communication as well as timing, with neither being utilised as Wilson helped himself to his second goal.
Ultimately, what this highlights is that without the Northern Irishman, there is a leadership void in the backline, with neither Fofana nor Söyüncü able to demonstrate adequate communication or composure to take control of the defence. With Evans an injury doubt for upcoming games, this puts the viability of the three at the back system in jeopardy.
3. Running out of attacking ideas
Leicester’s limited attacking display yet again raises more questions. This performance suggests much off-season work is needed, and that previous victories against West Brom and Crystal Palace have simply papered over the cracks.
Once again, the lack of movement and dynamism led to long spells of ponderous possession rounded off by an aimless long ball. It is hard to put a finger on one reason for this, with the lack of dynamic running from players such as Barnes being one possible reason. Even so, the players on the pitch in theory had more than enough quality to dispatch the Magpies, yet such quality did not materialise.
Maddison once again put in a disappointing display, although this may be down to his lack of full match fitness. Brendan Rodgers described this as a “Catch-22” situation, with the importance of the games meaning Maddison has no time to work his way back to fitness in ‘low-pressure’ games. Regardless of this, there is a strong case for him to be dropped in favour of Ayoze Pérez, with the Englishman’s lack of creative spark or end product unable to be ignored any longer.
4. Too little, too late
If anything was to provide a glimmer of hope, it was the last ten minutes of this performance. Whether that was due to Leicester’s improvement or Newcastle slacking, is a matter up for debate. Nevertheless, two goals from Albrighton and Iheanacho gave faint and unrealistic hope of a comeback, when the game, in reality, was out of sight. Were it not for the goalkeeper, Dubravka, who was inspired for the Toon, Pérez could have set up a grandstand finish.
Such a ‘fightback’ is bittersweet, giving hope but also making the missed chances earlier in the game more keenly rued, with Leicester having racked up 25 attempts on goal throughout the 90 minutes.
Similarly to the West Ham performance, the late flurry gave limited respectability to the scoreline and made it seem like the game had been a competitive affair. This was not at all the case, but merely a crumb of comfort for onlooking supporters.
5. Home form and long COVID
The issue of home form has been a thorn in Leicester City’s side for the whole of this season, with defeat to Steve Bruce’s men representing the eighth loss out of only ten in total. This is a far cry from Leicester’s excellent home form last season, with the King Power being anything but a proverbial fortress.
Whilst there are mitigating factors such as an ageing pitch and no fans, it is unwise for the workman to pin all the blame on his tools or circumstances, something other managers are guilty of doing. Hopefully, this stumbling block will not continue to be a long-term complication, with the return of fans against Spurs providing a welcome boost.
Additionally, such a humiliating loss causes ‘COVID-gate’ to raise its ugly head once again. Since the ill-judged house party, results haven’t been terrible but performances have not been up to scratch. This may be over analysing the impact of one aberration, but the potential psychological effects are concerning nonetheless.
Definitely, Rodgers must rally his troops and ensure that they can put the past behind them and fight for the badge if Leicester will secure a deserved Champions League spot and/or FA cup victory.
Hope in a time of darkness: What this means for Leicester City’s season?
Despite all the negativity resulting from this defeat, it is important for fans and everyone at the club to keep a level head and not get sucked into a spiral of despair. Such a loss, whilst disappointing, is not the end of the world. Moreover, any attempt to be positive after this debacle should not be confused with being ‘delusional’.
With a crucial week coming up ahead, a positive result and performance must be achieved on Tuesday at Old Trafford. It is hoped that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer puts out a weakened side versus the Foxes, with his side being handed a horrendous fixture schedule. Therefore, it wouldn’t be unexpected that Rodgers’ men will take all three points against a better side in true Leicester fashion!
In the build-up to a difficult run-in against three top-six sides, it is also worth remembering that all of these sides have been beaten by the Foxes already this season. Though circumstances now are much different, with Chelsea rejuvenated under Tuchel, Leicester’s fantastic record against top-six sides is not something to be sniffed at. Besides this fact, the Foxes are much more effective when not having to dominate possession, and they are unlikely to have to do so in their remaining fixtures.
Nevertheless, the proof is in the pudding, and the next few games will determine whether mental and tactical lessons have been learnt from past failures. Such situations are where the manager earns his pay, with Brendan’s man-management skills set to be tested to the limits.
Although ensuring a happy end to the season is now somewhat harder thanks to the past two results, fate is still in Leicester’s hands and the next few weeks will be a true test of character. Lessons must be learnt, but the reaction is what will be valued most.