A Visit to St Marys for Leicester City wasn’t as profitable as two years ago. In their previous couple visits, the Foxes are yet to take the lead, but given how this game started they’ll gladly take a point back to the Midlands. But what 3 things will they have learned?
James Maddison is back!
Many of us Leicester fans have been critical of the Foxes number ten for quite a while. After going nearly half a season without a goal or an assist, he finally seems to be firing on all cylinders and hitting levels of magic we haven’t seen for a while. On the South coast, he was showcasing his full repertoire of tricks, with a dazzling array of drag-backs, Cruyff-turns, and quick-moves.
What was also on show was an insatiable work rate that his manager has been craving from him for some time. This was perfectly exemplified in the second half, with the game poised at two-two, Maddison sprinted back to block a cross deep in his own half. This will have pleased Leicester fans almost as much as the rest of his game.
In the first half, he made a twisting wide run with his dangerous cross leading to Wilfred Ndidi’s shot and Jonny Evans rebounded goal. In the second half, he livened up even more, after some fine work with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Luke Thomas he twisted and turned inside the box before squeezing a shot in between the post and Alex McCarthy. It was no more than he deserved, and it is now 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 3 games. He’s on fire!
Midfield problems and a potential solution
There is currently a giant Youri Tielemans shaped hole within the team and against Southampton that was becoming painfully clear. Wilfred Ndidi seems lost in the middle of the park, unsure of whether to press up the field or sit in deep, he mostly achieved neither. His passes were erratic at best and his timing into challenges was starting to look wayward. Were it not for an offside flag he would have conceded a third consecutive penalty after a bizarre kung-fu style kick clearance that landed in the chest of a Saints player.
Next to him, Boubakary Soumare seems lost as well and lacks identity as a central midfielder. Is he an 8? Is he part of a double-pivot? It was hard to see in the first half as he was overrun by Southampton’s aggressive press. Unsurprisingly, Soumare was hauled off at halftime and replaced with Dewsbury-Hall, to great effect.
Deswbury-Hall’s desire to get on the ball and move the play forward with a range of passes and movements cannot be ignored anymore. The second half of this game was evidence of what Dewsbury-Hall offers and as he played a key part in creating space for Maddison’s equaliser he also found players in dangerous positions which Ndidi and Soumare are not doing enough of.
Given the profiles of the players, it feels as though to maintain balance and consistency ‘KDH’ should be Tielemans’ understudy and Soumare should be Ndidi’s. We’ll find out what Brendan Rodgers thinks at Villa Park on Sunday, when he makes his selections.
No Corner turned for Leicester City’s defending
It is absolutely shameful that Leicester’s defending has got to this stage:
- 35 goals conceded in 21
- Going behind in 12
- Conceding in the first half of 13
- Conceding in the first half for the last 5 consecutive games
We could pull out even more stats, but what is blatantly clear for everyone to see is how bad Leicester are organised from set-pieces with opponents rubbing their hands with every corner and free-kick. Southampton mixed it up in this match and went short from a corner early on, which only served to confuse the foxes even more, with Jan Bednarek profiting from some shabby defensive reactions and a clumsy Timothy Castagne clearance.
The second was no better and although it came a little while after the corner had been dealt with, when the cross eventually arrived, Leicester were all over the place with nobody marking opponents yet again and Che Adams scoring gleefully against his hometown club.
It’s old news to talk about defending with this club, but unless they sort out defending free-kicks and corners in general, there will be no corner turned with their form. It’ll just be one inconsistent result after another.