Leicester City huffed and puffed but to no avail, falling to a 2-1 defeat against 10-man Chelsea. This latest loss marks the third in a row, the first time such a sequence has occurred under Brendan Rodgers. Despite the spirited performance, the team clearly lacks confidence and is far too passive in defence. One must question how long the Northern Irishman will remain after the latest setback.
Leicester City player ratings:
Danny Ward: 5/10- He probably could have done better for the first goal as he was too far off his line and unable to adjust his feet. He rarely makes glaring errors but also rarely makes match-winning saves. Would probably give Daniel Iversen a chance next week.
Timothy Castagne: 6/10- A steady performance from Castagne who got forward well on the right-hand side and delivered some good balls into the box. Unfortunately lost Raheem Sterling for the second Chelsea goal which was a rare mistake on his part.
Jonny Evans: 6/10- A decent performance from the skipper who positioned himself well to stop crucial attacks but was too passive in allowing Reece James to get to the byeline for Chelsea’s second.
Daniel Amartey: 6/10- Not as bad as many fans made him out to be and played well for the majority of the game, winning battles and progressing the ball well, whilst being unfortunate to have a goal disallowed. Should have gotten tighter to Sterling which was another costly error.
James Justin: 7/10- Performed admirably against Reece James who is such a potent attacking force. Got forward well but lacked any end product.
Midfielders and attackers
Harvey Barnes: 7/10- His powerful runs in the first half provided Leicester’s main threat and led to Conor Gallagher’s red card. He was also unfortunate to be penalised for City’s disallowed goal. In the second half, he continued to look like his old self, taking on players and combining well with Jamie Vardy to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Youri Tielemans: 8/10- An excellent all-action performance from the Belgian who hopefully will be staying at Leicester City at least for another season. Lucky not to give away a penalty in the first half but industrious in the tackle and quality on the ball. Created so many chances and central to everything good LCFC created. The only criticism of him was that his set-piece delivery was very poor.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: 6/10- Not the best from the academy graduate who showed plenty of endeavour but lacked influence throughout the game. Booked for what seemed like a good challenge.
Boubakary Soumare: 6/10- A surprise selection, Soumare was too slow in his ball distribution but improved substantially once Leicester had a man advantage. Whether he will still be at the club come Thursday remains uncertain.
Dennis Praet: 5/10- Anonymous on the wing for large parts of the first half as LCFC did not have much of the ball. His link-up improved after Gallagher’s sending-off but his short stint at RW seems like a short-lived experiment.
Jamie Vardy: 5/10- An off-day from Leicester City’s number nine who has endured a torrid start to the season. Unlike the previous three games, Vardy was heavily involved but missed three clear-cut chances you would expect him to bury. Did connect well with Harvey Barnes for Leicester’s goal but lacking confidence when presented with chances.
Substitutes and manager
Kelechi Iheanacho: 7/10- Such a frustrating player as he transformed the game once he came on, taking players on and driving LCFC forward. However, when he had chances himself, he failed to take them. Deserves a run in the team regardless, given how he changed the momentum of the game.
Ayoze Perez: 7/10- Despite the rumours around his exit, Perez also helped to turn the tide in Leicester’s favour with a promising substitutes performance. Picked up good positions in pockets of space as well as combining well in attack, and was unlucky to hit the woodwork.
Wilfried Ndidi: N/A- Baffling why he was substituted on given the state of the game. Not on long enough to garner a rating.
Brendan Rodgers: 5/10 and it’s time to go. Rodgers didn’t make any horrendous tactical errors today but this was yet another reminder that he has probably run his course as Foxes manager. The mentality of the players is so poor in how they lose focus at key moments. It doesn’t help how he repeats the same excuses every week in interviews without doing anything about them. In the words of Claude from Arsenal Fan TV, it’s time to go. Change certainly is needed imminently to save LCFC’s season.