Leicester City came back from behind to rescue a 3-3 draw against sister club OH Leuven. On what was a historic match for both sides, LCFC were put under the cosh from the very start.
Despite suffering in the first half, the Foxes managed to gradually gain control of the game and assert their superiority. Nevertheless, calamity never seemed to be far away with different players at different levels of match sharpness. After what was a frenetic encounter, FOL brings a reflection on the action.
Slow starts
Slow starts are an issue that have bugged the Foxes for years, preceding the management of Brendan Rodgers. Under Claude Puel, City were one of the worst teams to start games, often having to come back from behind due to being slow out of the blocks. Against OH Leuven, this was no different as the Belgian side took just 24 seconds to carve their way through the Foxes’ defence.
In fact, the opening 30 minutes saw LCFC unpicked innumerable times, with 2-0 probably being slightly flattering. If this continues into the Premier League season, having to come from such a deficit is going to cost the King Power side countless points.
The only mitigating circumstance would be that Marc Bry’s team are several weeks further along in their pre-season, yet Leicester’s quality should have been more than enough to give them victory. This result should be a further wake-up call for increased spending, though external circumstances may render this difficult.
Leicester City’s homegrown talent
On a more positive note, the catalysts for Leicester City’s revival were the usual suspects, whose importance was once again underlined. Home-grown talents were at the forefront of LCFC’s recovery in the second half. Even when the Foxes were 2-0 down, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Harvey Barnes looked the most likely to create something. Despite this being early pre-season, KDH has picked up where he left off with energetic and quality displays, capping it off with a 20-yard peach of a goal.
Harvey Barnes has started pre-season like a house on fire, after coming under fire for some lacklustre displays last campaign. The Englishman looks refreshingly sharp and tormented his full-back multiple times using his pace and trickery. If it wasn’t for the efforts of the Leuven keeper, Barnes would certainly have scored or assisted at least once. Hopefully, this is a sign of more to come, the crucial sticking point being whether the 24-year-old can replicate these displays consistently when it matters.
With the season to start in just a few weeks, and no signings to speak of as yet, having both of these players looking on form brings some hope in a time when Leicester fans have little to cheer about.
Daniel Iversen is not the answer
It is clear that Kasper Schmeichel’s international counterpart has some way to go before he is anywhere near this LCFC team. Daniel Iversen made another glaring error costing a goal, making it the second error leading to a goal in as many games. Such mistakes, whilst generally acceptable in pre-season, are not excusable in this case.
The latest error was a case of poor judgement, leading to him totally missing the ball. Furthermore, his distribution is even worse than Schmeichel’s, with Iversen often hoofing the ball straight back to the opposition, hampering build-up play. Personally, whilst Kasper’s kicking leaves a lot to be desired at times, it is probably more maligned than it deserves to be. This is not the case with Iversen, and Preston fans have highlighted multiple times that this aspect is his weakest. Having seen it in the flesh, it seems that he offers little upgrade on current backup Danny Ward, in fact being an inferior option at present.
Whilst he has shown himself to be a quality shot-stopper, it is clear that more development is required. A loan to another top-half championship or bottom-half Premiership side would serve him well, although the former would be more likely for Iversen to get regular playing time.