Watford 1-5 Leicester: Player ratings as the Foxes reclaim the 9th spot

The one prior to the penultimate match of this season ended on a high note for Leicester City away from home at Vicarage Road.

Brendan Rodgers had formulated a unique line-up by interestingly omitting Kasper Schmeichel from making his 150th consecutive appearance and giving Danny Ward his first-ever Premier League start in four seasons.

The Blue army had little expectations from the remaining contests as they have been heartbroken on many occasions this year. But the shared rivalry that these two sides have had over the last few years from the Championship definitely had a nostalgic feeling.

A relegation bound Watford was able to punish the Foxes early on as João Pedro finished off the dreaded first corner without any noticeable resilience. Roy Hodgson’s side barely had any real motivation to seek out a result, and soon the Foxes caught the Hornets sleeping.

The rare goal-fest started with James Maddison scoring a relatively easy equalizer in the 18th minute. It was followed by a Jamie Vardy header, which invertedly put the visitors ahead. Then Harvey Barnes scored rapidly within seconds after the second half began. The 3-1 scoreline further was extended when the King Power club finished off with two more goals from Vardy and Barnes.

Climbing up the rankings in the league table has a vital advantage this season. That is precisely why the Foxes must try to secure as many points as possible in the dying stages of the competition with no visible rewards at stake. Each ranking would add up to € 2.5 million in prize money this season.

The two immediate games against Chelsea and Southampton can pull Leicester City up to 8th in the standings. Finishing into the top half of the table, just below the last European spot, would still be acceptable, considering where the outfit was a few weeks ago.

Leicester City’s Player Ratings

Danny Ward 7 – It was a surprise to remark that this was the Welsh’s first-ever start in the Premier League for the East Midlanders. The 28-year-old had massive shoes to fill, which he did remarkably well. Ward was brave, resolute, and reactive. He made four saves, out of which one was direct. The other three took some work as they were not easy to keep out from Watford’s attacks. He struggled with long balls, similar to his Danish counterpart.

James Justin 7 – Comparatively, a silent display from the left-back as he didn’t do anything outrightly remarkable. He held off well on his own, but we expect more from the highly-rated player. However, Justin was 3/3 tackles and was a key factor in clearing the lines to eliminate offensive threats.

Jonny Evans 7 – The Northern Irish center-back wore the captain’s armband today. Evans was involved in sending the lofted long ball for a pre-assist in City’s first goal. Looked good in multiple moments, which culminated in six recoveries. Won all of his ariel (3/3) and ground (3/3) duels. However, he was taken off around the 57th minute and replaced by Dan Amartey.

Wesley Fofana 7 – Fofana had the best overall accurate passes (74/74). He remained the best performer on the last line of defense for the visitors. He is getting there to his usual best and needs to find someone to partner alongside consistently.

Timothy Castagne 7 – Was trying his best to produce on the offense. Had three shots, none of which were good enough to aid Leicester City. Defensively was alert in clearing the dangerous balls.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall 7 – A timid game from the Shepshed born. He did well to keep alive the dominancy in City’s midfield. Was trying to link between the midfield and the final third.

Nampalys Mendy 7 – Mendy did what Mendy does. But did not provide anything to benefit the side that could have helped the side to dominate. Rodgers had to replace him to instill the attacking marrow.

Youri Tielemans 7– He made a mess, which bit his side for the first goal. The Belgian should’ve cleared the ball but instead made a blunder. He managed to recover later by assisting Maddison with his equalizer. Got booked with a yellow.

Jamie Vardy 9 – We were lucky to witness another edition of vintage Vardy. Two composed finishes saw the Englishman bag a brace and climb up the charts as the top scorer for his side in the league this season. Both the finishes came off as a bit too much for Ben Foster.

James Maddison 9 – Another Man of the Match performance from the Leicester’s number 10. Watford left him uncontested several times, which turned out to be a fatal lapse of judgment as he punished them at every possible opportunity. Kept on lobbing through balls for the forwards, which presented him with two assists and a goal for the day.

Harvey Barnes 9 – Barnes has been impressive lately, as he has started showing maturity by overcoming his selfishness on the ball. Today he was performing as a second-striker alongside his usual winger duties. The 24-year-old was hungry to meet the crosses funneled into the box. He scored two brilliant goals and provided an assist. He should have scored a hattrick from a chance for a header which did not transpire.

Substitutions

Patson Daka – Came on to replace Vardy for the final ten minutes to close off the contest. Apart from a stunning shot that got saved, there wasn’t anything else from the Zambian.

Marc Albrighton – The veteran came on at the start of the second half in place of Mendy. He was quick to make his mark as his cross found Barnes just after the start of a Watford kick-off.

Daniel Amartey – Didn’t have any impact in this match after he got introduced to replace Evans.