There were quite a lot of reactionary takes on Leicester City’s 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, as previous visits to North London have been fairly fruitful for the East Midlanders, but the expectations of this singular fixture need to be addressed. It’s important to note, that a lot of the overreactions came from neutral fans, unaware of the “bigger picture”, and how focusing on Thursday evening is the best avenue for Brendan Rodgers and his side.
The Foxes aren’t in a position to reach European football via the domestic route, it would take an incomprehensible turn of events; a major drop in performance level from those above them—which could be possible—but also an almost perfect record from Leicester to close out the season, to maximise this metaphoric misfortune. For some reason, that doesn’t feel likely. But, a single game (this Thursday at the Stadio Olimpico vs AS Roma) has the potential to provide a final, and a chance to play European football next campaign.
It’s with these things in mind, that overanalysing the performance against Antonio Conte’s Spurs and being frustrated by the result—a loss—isn’t an optimal use of time. Instead, let’s dissect some of the meaningful takeaways from the experimental Premier League match away at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Firstly, the system. Brendan Rodgers has shown glimpses of back three/five formations during his tenure with the Foxes, with the common denominator being injuries forcing his hand. In a similar vein, that’s why the 5-2-1-2 was utilised, but instead of reacting to injuries, Rodgers was proactive in ensuring fatigue/injuries wouldn’t limit his selections for the game in midweek. He was able to rest key players across the board, even providing a rest from the entire squad for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, James Maddison, and Jonny Evans.
To provide a brief summary of the formation; I will initially look at the positives. An additional centre-back provided Leicester City with a supportive anchor option in possession, this resulted in an overload versus the Spurs press, and was effective at retaining possession. However, more options in depth also limited how many passing lanes were available once the ball progressed through the thirds, a knock-on effect of the setup.
Another positive though was the triangle created between the number 10 and two STs. Ayoze Pérez was chosen as the “creative player”, and throughout the first half was crucial to all the chance creation—be it his movement, or just simply in possession. The connection between the two forwards wasn’t as profitable as many imagined it to be, not always on the same wave length, but glimmers of promise. Again, this was merely a free hit, or trial, and both showed they could function together, or in other two forward setups.
With the rest to key players, the main “starting” centre-backs for City received much needed recovery time. Perhaps inevitably, the quality of defending corners reverted back to the seasons average, as Daniel Amartey allowed a simple manipulation of space from Harry Kane—and consequential finish—to open the scoring. Without instructive players such as Jonny Evans, nor athletic (and incredibly determined ball winners) individuals such as Wesley Fofana, the Foxes looked fragile. This isn’t groundbreaking, but does outline the requirement of a leader-type CB to be added into the squad when Evans isn’t available.
As the game shifted into Tottenham Hotspur’s favour, it was very pleasing to see Rodgers turn to Lewis Brunt on the bench, as a replacement for Boubakary Soumaré. The 21-year-old looked assured in the centre of the pitch, with a few clever pass selections—bypassing the closest lane and utilising a longer option. It sounds simplistic, but it’s effective at beating the press and also takes confidence to execute. I don’t think he outperformed the Frenchman, who I thought impressed in a rare cameo, but seeing an academy graduate get minutes is always pleasing.
These are my positives, from a “nothing” game – from the King Power team’s perspective – which offered very little. Brendan Rodgers got to experiment with his selection, attempted an intriguing formation—the 5-2-1-2—all with little risk. It does place a lot of emphasis on Thursday, albeit that was always going to be the case, but thankfully the squad is revitalised and ready to battle at the Stadio Olimpico.