Leicester City’s final game of preseason ended in a 1-0 victory of Spanish side Sevilla thanks to a second-half goal by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Leicester City’s Daniel Iversen: 4
Despite not being tested during the 45 minutes the goalkeeper played, his distribution was wildly inconsistent and indecisive. Not a great outing for the Dane.
Ricardo Pereira: 5
A disappointing end for the Portuguese international, going down without any contact forcing the full back to leave the game shortly after the half hour mark.
Wesley Fofana: 7.5
An excellent 45 minutes the young centre half. He showed immense composure when progressing the ball. He also broke through the lines on numerous occasions, being the catalyst many attacks in the first half. Also, when he was called upon defensively, he produced a brilliantly timed challenge to deny the Sevilla forward in front of goal.
Jonny Evans: 5.5
Some misplaced passes in the opening stages of the contest, Evans was quite pedestrian with some of his play, however he was competent defensively despite not being tested much.
James Justin: 6.5
The lack of threat Sevilla posed in the wide areas allowed Justin to venture forward frequently. The full back showed good intent when carrying the ball and some slick link-up play on occasion with Harvey Barnes, only negative was, that when in the opposition’s final third his end ball was not up to par.
Timothy Castagne: 7
Castagne definitely grew into the game offensively as it progressed, playing in the wide forward role in the first, he led the press immensely well. Resulting in multiple Sevilla turnovers high up the pitch. The Belgian did an excellent job stretching the Sevilla defence even once he dropped into the right back role once Pereira came off injured. It was another impressive preseason performance.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: 7
A typical Dewsbury-Hall performance, being the engine of the midfield upping the tempo whenever he could. His physical play allowed City to dominate much more easily as well as winning the ball high up the pitch. The match winning goal also, an area of his game a lot City fans will be hoping he improves in, this upcoming campaign.
Wilfred Ndidi: 6.5
Still getting back to match sharpness after a lengthy period out, his impact when breaking down the play was there – as it usually is – but his inability to receive the ball off the centre halves did occasionally mean that LCFC were easy to press and resulted in his teammates having to force hopeful long-balls.
James Maddison: 7.5
Extremely impactful performance by the Foxes’ talisman, especially in the second half. As he does when he’s on form, he lived on the half turn which creates so many difficulties for the opposing midfielders as it allows Maddison to progress the ball quickly up the field, or roll the defender if they were too tight and draw a foul. The only downside was his end product in the critical areas of the pitch, but it was an inspired performance nonetheless.
Jamie Vardy: 5.5
Although his link up play was of an elite standard, his end product was a lot to be desired and didn’t show the ruthlessness in front of goal people are used to see from Leicester’s number nine.
Harvey Barnes: 8
This is the Barnes that Premier League sides should be very worried about. Direct, pacey wing-play. Extremely difficult to deal with from a full-backs perspective once isolated. Hopefully the 24-year-old coming off was only a precaution because that kind of play will only elevate the rest of the side.
Substitutes:
Youri Tielemans: 7
Another assured preseason display by Tielemans, pulling the strings from deep as he so often does. Also occasionally varying his game and breaking through the lines with progressives drives forward opening up different angles to slot passes into. Very competent display by the Belgian.
Kasper Schmeichel: 5.5
Not troubled due to the visiting sides lack of attacking threat in the second period however his distribution was quite accurate and efficient.
Dennis Praet: 7
Despite only featuring limited minutes in the second period and out on the left-hand side it was a very influential performance by Praet, giving Rodgers even more things to ponder when it comes to selection for the opening game next Sunday.
Patson Daka: 6
Where Vardy struggled to trouble the Sevilla defence in behind Daka did not, although opportunities were limited, he did give the opposing defence much more to think about, just the finishing touches were not there.
Bouba Soumare, Nampalys Mendy, Daniel Amartey, Marc Albrighton: 5
These players had little to no impact on the contest due to limited minutes and touches. Therefore a default five is given to all.