Norwich 1-2 Leicester: Ineffective aside from two moments of quality

I won’t go into the complete in’s and outs of Maddison’s performance (there’s a few extra thoughts in my thread on Twitter), but if the decisions aren’t on an individual level, and more so what Rodgers is asking of him, then I’m really concerned about how the number 10 will be implemented in the future. In the current state, the Foxes are alienating his strengths whilst leaning on some of his weaker assets.

Outside of these initial issues, Leicester also offered some really bad positioning in the attacking third. The runners made little effort to impact the game, tending to seek positions behind the “cover shadows” of Norwich’s midfielders and defenders — a cover shadow is a hypothetical area behind a footballer that is covered by their positioning. They were also lethargic and lacked real invention or purpose with their movements.

Yet, despite all of this, the two real moments of quality decided the result of the fixture. The Canaries frailties were truly highlighted in these moments — as mentioned earlier with Vardy’s goal, but also the transitional attack that eventually found Marc Albrighton on the right (Norwich’s lack of defensive pace made this an easier avenue for the Foxes), but they can still feel aggrieved to lose the game. I’d suggest they were the “better” team for 80% of the fixture — and for Rodgers’ side that truly isn’t good enough.

The international break now separates the game at Carrow Road with the Manchester City fixture at the King Power Stadium. This is a welcome opportunity for a reset, mentally and physically, a chance for players struggling with injuries to make headway on their rehabilitation, and also allows Rodgers a chance to understand where his current squad is at. It’s six points out of a possible nine, but with three fairly underwhelming performances to start the season, there’s plenty of room for improvements.