It’s been a difficult period for Leicester City, over the past couple of months they’ve surrendered leads to losses and disastrously exited the FA Cup to their “rivals”, all whilst performing to a very subpar level.
This time, a trip to Anfield wasn’t going to change the discourse. A very comfortable display for Jürgen Klopp’s side saw them beat the Foxes yesterday evening — what are my takeaways from the game?
Firstly, a large section of the fan base merely wanted a performance, for the squad to show some resilience and character — two aspects that have been abject recently. I think Brendan Rodgers’ side showed both of these traits, albeit without threatening Allison in the Liverpool net, but many Leicester fans anticipated it would be a quiet evening for the Brazilian.
There’s a template that Rodgers reverts to in these kinds of fixtures. It’s about being defensively resolute, and perhaps taking the few chances on the counter — reminiscent of Claudio Ranieri’s title-winners, but, unlike that fast-paced, clinical 2015/16 side, the Foxes aren’t anywhere near as lethal on the few flourishes forward and are one of the worst defensive units in the division.
It’s a blend that doesn’t bode well for pushing the European places in the league. In fact, if you judged the league on “expected points” — a metric utilised by Infogol, that uses “expected goals for” (xG) versus “expected goals against” (xGA) in every individual fixture and determines what the outcome “should” have been, Rodgers’ side would be sitting in 16th place. Only two spots above the dreaded relegation zone — instead, they’re 12th.
The game at Anfield had a familiar feel to it, backs-to-the-wall, almost a training exercise of defence versus attack, and the inevitable goal from a corner for the opposition — that’s now the 13th goal conceded in this fashion this season (the worst in the league).
Worryingly, the Foxes changed their approach, opting for a hybrid marking system instead of their preferred zonal. But the shortcomings of the merged system were truly highlighted by Liverpool’s quality in decision-making. Virgil Van Dijk was the first player to lose his man, Wilfred Ndidi. A clever bunching at the top of the box from The Reds’ aerial threats made it hard for individuals to mark their respective man touch-tight.
Once the space opened towards the front-post, it was only Van Dijk contesting the header. A late attempt from James Justin, who himself was part of the zonal structure, meant that the right-back had removed himself from the central area at the top of Kasper Schmeichel’s six-yard box. A good save from Van Dijk’s effort wasn’t rewarded with the defensive support it deserved, as it fell to Diogo Jota — in the aforementioned space vacated by Justin — for a tap-in.
Until this point, Leicester didn’t feel “out” of the game. They’d threatened on the few occasions in Liverpool’s final third — most notably the combination via James Maddison, whose strike required a clever save from Alisson (his only saving involvement in the fixture). But, once they’d gone behind and the tactic of “holding on” and trying to score in transition had become obsolete, the Foxes lost their way.
A late second-half finish from Jota sealed the tie, but Leicester City rarely looked like scoring. The xG numbers for the game (which should be taken with a pinch of salt, as these stats should be utilised over many games to display trends rather than singular irregularities) paint the same picture — 3.3 – 0.46, the Foxes were lucky to concede only two goals and would’ve required an “overperformance” on their shots to score. Nobody in the East Midlands camp will suggest this was an unfortunate result.
My frustrations mainly lie with the approach to the game. In recent weeks, two clubs have gone to Anfield with a lot fewer resources than the Foxes — even with their injury woes — and attacked the game. Cardiff City eventually lost the tie but really pressurised a full-strength Red’s defence, while Brighton & Hove Albion deployed a clever “false 9” 4-1-4-1 with Leandro Trossard being the star and left — deservingly — with a point for their troubles.
But, with Rodgers, Leicester rarely set up (in these difficult fixtures) to attack the game. It’s all about limiting goals against and trying to dispatch the few chances we create in transitions. It’s simply negative and doesn’t utilise the quality of players the Foxes have in their ranks — yes, confidence is a major factor in attacking difficult games away from home and that’s seriously lacking in the current crop of players. But, when you’re defensively frail, trying to articulate a plan that’s sole responsibility is not conceding, you’re going to struggle.