How Leicester City overcame Randers 3-1 in the second leg of the Conference League play-offs.
In truth, the scoreline flattered the Foxes who did not perform well but came through due to the heroics of Kasper Schmeichel and two quality moments from James Maddison. The second ‘Madders’ goal came after a delightful passing move, which shows what LCFC can do.
Surprisingly, Leicester City were once again unable to keep a clean sheet with Kasper Schmeichel’s error meaning the wait for another shut-out continues. Despite progressing, they certainly need to tighten up at the back, having conceded 23 shots which is unsustainable.
Here are how the players rated:
Goalkeepers and Defenders:
Kasper Schmeichel: 7.5/10
‘The Great Dane’ was largely excellent for most of the game, making five impressive saves as Randers threatened throughout. The pick of the bunch was a fine save from the dangerous Odey before he blemished his record with a poor touch from a backpass which cost him a clean sheet.
Marc Albrighton: 5/10
A decent first-half display was not matched by the second-half. Randers were able to get in behind him on multiple occasions in the second half and he struggled to have much influence going forward.
Daniel Amartey: 6/10
A display that was neither here nor there, Amartey didn’t make any glaring errors but didn’t do anything beyond regulation either besides a few good blocks. A standard display from Leicester City’s most consistent centre-back this season.
Jannick Vestergaard: 4/10
Poor once again and proof that his improvement in the reverse fixture cannot be taken at face value. He looked ponderous on the ball, nearly dribbling into trouble before being saved by a contentious decision whilst he struggled to press effectively against Randers’ speed. He also played the dodgy back-pass which led to Randers scoring.
Luke Thomas: 5/10
Similarly to Albrighton, Thomas started well but faded as the game went on. His early composure on the ball gave way to diving in recklessly as he buckled under the pressure Leicester faced in the second period.
Midfielders and attackers
Ademola Lookman: 5/10
Extremely quiet after his Man of the Match display in Leicester City’s previous game. This reinforces the fact that he is much better on the left-hand side, and also may partly be down to the poor conditions. Nevertheless, he was unable to link up effectively or carry the ball as he usually does.
Wilfried Ndidi: 6/10
Despite the poor pitch, Ndidi was much better in his distribution than he has been at other times this season, which maybe doesn’t say a lot. He did his usual work in defence whilst playing some good passes at times.
Youri Tielemans: 6/10
Worked hard without much reward as Leicester struggled to assert their control over the game. Tielemans was unable to pick out the killer pass with much accuracy but always looks for a positive pass and that makes him crucial to this side.
James Maddison: 7.5/10
It would be lying to say that Madders put in a good display despite his two-goal showing. For large parts of the game, he was largely anonymous and subjected to a few knocks amidst the conditions. Nevertheless, he has that moment of quality and pulled off two sublime finishes into the opposite corners to win a game Leicester didn’t deserve.
Harvey Barnes: 6.5/10
His powerful run and lovely finish after two minutes saw him score Leicester’s fastest ever goal in Europe. Unfortunately, this did not reflect what was to come and he was denied the same amount of space for the rest of the game although he had his promising moments without delivering further.
Kelechi Iheanacho: 5/10
Many LCFC City fans have been calling for the Nigerian to start for some time but Iheanacho did not repay their faith. Whilst he was willing to get more involved than Patson Daka, his touch was pretty woeful at times although he had little service.
Leicester City Substitutes
Hamza Choudhury: 5/10
Showed his growing versatility to play right-back, which he did without any fireworks. He wasn’t able to stem the tide of Randers’ opportunities but he wasn’t guilty of any errors himself.
Ayoze Perez: 5/10
Little of note to report from the Spaniard who displayed some neat touches but didn’t do anything good or bad in the time he had on the pitch.
Boubakary Soumare: 5/10
Another average cameo for Soumare as he made little notable contributions in the midfield. More generally, the Frenchman must improve areas of his game as he seems to lose concentration when tracking back. His passing was fine but once again lacked the kind of progression that Leicester expected when they bought him and he looks set to remain firmly behind academy graduate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for the time being.