Everton 1-1 Leicester: Three positives after more dropped points

Youri Tielemans refound verticality/form despite needing rest

An hour before every kick-off, Leicester City’s media team will tweet out the starting XI for the upcoming game. If you had to guess one name that was always on this list, it would be Youri Tielemans. Even during the international break, you could check the Belgian Red Devils’ social media account and the 24-year-old’s name will always be there. He needs a rest, as currently, he’s on course to break the record for minutes played by a professional in his career — after breaking into RSC Anderlecht’s XI at the age of 16.

Despite this, Tielemans provided another example of his importance to Rodgers — hence the lack of rest — as he was a key contributor in controlling the game for the Foxes. I’ll be the first to admit his level in recent weeks has been subpar, although fatigue plays a role in this, and the expectation (due to the heights of his performances with Leicester City so far) put on him. But, even in a game where a few of his misplaced passes created advantageous turnovers for Everton, especially for Alex Iwobi puncturing centrally, I thought he had a good game.

The first point of this article was “static possession”, and Tielemans frequent exploits of verticality played an instrumental role in its success. I think Rodgers is aware of his fatigue and is adapting his setup to ensure the Belgian can be involved without dropping him. As mentioned earlier, Pereira spent a lot of the game advanced on the right-side, and this was due to Tielemans slotting into the right-side of the midfield pivot (covering gaps on the flank).