Leicester City faced Southampton at St Mary’s, a tough match for the Foxes which resulted in a 2-2 draw. Here are the player ratings for each half.
The King Power side visited the Saints at St Mary’s where Brendan Rodgers put forward a positive and aggressive possession-based team. The starting XI matched our expected XI with:
Kasper Schmeichel; Jonny Evans; Caglar Soyuncu; Timothy Castagne; Luke Thomas; Boubakary Soumare; Wilfred Ndidi; James Maddison; Harvey Barnes; Ademola Lookman; and, Jamie Vardy.
To summarise the halves: in the first, the Foxes were unimpressive, going 2-1 down. Possession was the name, but constantly giving the ball away with our passing was the game. Southampton would win ever second ball and Leicester would stay in their own half for most of the match.
The second half was more like what we expect. Leicester dominated large spells of the game and exploited their pace with Barnes and Vardy to create opportunities. However, the game dissolved into a back and forth fixture with little cohesion late in the half. The game finished two all.
Leicester City’s first half
Here are the first half player ratings. For the first 30 minutes of the match, the Foxes did not match expectations with another sloppy set of defending and another set-piece goal. Rodgers supposedly fixed these terrible set piece plays.
Schmeichel (6/10); Evans (8/10); Soyuncu (5/10); Castagne (6/10); Thomas (5/10); Soumare (4/10); Ndidi (5/10); Maddison (7/10); Barnes (5/10); Lookman (4/10); and, Vardy (5/10).
A weak start and a lethargic performance plagued the first half of the fixture. Unfortunately, several players failed to offer any off the ball movement besides Madders and Lookman. However, when on the ball, Ade has been unimpressive and bullied by defenders and midfielders.
The only highlight was the obtention of a corner and our ability to keep the pressure and the ball alive in the hope of building another chance. This led to a secondary ball into the box and a saved shot from Ndidi which saw Evans pounce to equalise.
Many Leicester players were uninvolved for large spells. Vardy was chief amongst them; whenever on the ball, Vardy looked dangerous but never got on the ball for long enough to really impact the game. This is our greatest weakness, a lack of off the ball desire and involvement from key players.
Second half ratings
Soumare was taken off at the start of the second half to inject more creativity in midfield. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was brought on. The young midfielder brings a different element into the game, with control being a priority.
Schmeichel (6/10); Evans (7/10); Soyuncu (6/10); Castagne (6/10); Thomas (6/10); Ndidi (6/10); Maddison (9/10); Barnes (6/10); Lookman (5/10); and, Vardy (7/10).
Subs: Dewsbury-Hall (8/10); Ayoze Perez (7/10); and, Patson Daka (5/10).
A lethargic start led to an equaliser. KDH, Barnes, Maddison, and Thomas combined to create an opportunity in the box for the English playmaker. Dewsbury-Hall made an immediate impact, so he will be rated highly.
We also saw much better taking of set pieces in this half, with Madders showing his confidence with brilliant deliveries into the box. A lively start to the second half, though Lookman improved he did seem to give away cheap fouls.
Ayo was brought on for Ade to improve the creativity in the side. He certainly offered better link up with the forwards, which created opportunities for Barnes and Vardy. Alongside better willingness to win the ball, we did much better.
Several of our defenders improved their game in the second half. Thomas looked much more composed with Ndidi appeared to return to his aware and gifted self. A little more intensity to win that second ball sees the ratings for the defensive line increase.
After a couple of chances missed for the Foxes, Rodgers brought on the impressive Daka. For the time the Zambian forward was on, Leicester City were not as prolific as they could have been: they did not exploit all that pace enough.
A 2-2 draw is perhaps all we deserved after that first half, though the King Power side did have plenty of chances from to win the game. ‘Barnsey’ and ‘Vards’ did miss brilliant chances. Maddison was player of the game, and gets an 8/10 for his performance in both halves.