Only Leicester City could go ahead in less than a minute and be behind fifteen minutes later. The 5-2 defeat was the latest pathetic and gutless performance that keeps us at the foot of the Premier League table.
The first minute was about as good as it got in an entertaining first half. Kelechi Iheanacho tapped in Patson Daka’s low cross before Brighton responded through Luke Thomas’s own-goal and Moises Caicedo putting the hosts ahead. Patson Daka equalised on 32 minutes for Leicester City, neatly finishing a brilliant looped pass by Youri Tielemans.
We certainly didn’t play well in the first half, but in the second half, we sunk to a new level of rubbish. Alexis MacAllister was unfortunate to have a brilliant effort ruled out for offside just two minutes after the interval. It wasn’t to matter too much though, as goals from Leandro Trossard and two goals from Alexis MacAllister compounded the Foxes’ misery.
Mentally weak. Physically weak. Tactically weak. It was the first time that the hosts had scored five goals in a Premier League match, while the latest defeat made it five consecutive league losses for LCFC.
Leicester City player ratings:
Danny Ward: 2/10 – Couldn’t do much about many of the goals but was ponderous throughout in possession, with his poor pass contributing to Luke Thomas’s first-half booking. Looked uneasy dealing with corners and high balls into the box.
James Justin: 2/10 – Looks a shadow of the player he was pre ACL injury. He was hopeless throughout and was fortunate that the cheap free-kick he gave away a minute into the second half wasn’t culpable for Brighton’s third goal which was disallowed.
Wilfried Ndidi: 2/10 – Conceded a penalty for Brighton’s 4th goal and performed how you’d expect him to in a terrible defence, playing in an unnatural position.
Jonny Evans: 5/10 – Doesn’t say a lot, but he was the best out of a very bad bunch at the back. Feel for him as he’s been a very solid servant over the last couple of seasons.
Luke Thomas: 3/10 – Was unlucky with his own goal in the first half, but he’s clearly a player that is currently out of his depth at Premier League level. A loan to a Championship club would’ve made sense, given we’ll be playing there next season.
Boubakary Soumaré: 4/10 – Again displayed some nice footwork, but with Wilfried Ndidi playing at centre-back, the entire midfield lacked any aggressor in midfield to break things up.
Youri Tielemans: 6/10 – A brilliant lofted pass over Lewis Dunk for Patson Daka’s goal. The only player in our squad that possesses that sort of passing range.
James Maddison: 3/10 – Had a match to forget. Lost the ball that led to Brighton’s second goal and gave possession cheaply away countless times.
Harvey Barnes – 4/10 – Wasn’t as bad as the others purely due to playing 45 mins. Presumably brought off at half-time to match up the hosts in terms of formation. It clearly worked!
Patson Daka – 7/10 – Linked up well with his strike partner, and took his goal very well given his lack of game time.
Kelechi Iheanacho – 7/10 – Made an instant impact scoring in less than a minute. Linked up play well but was brought off on 73 mins for Jamie Vardy.
Substitutes and manager:
Timothy Castagne: 3/10 – Came on at half-time and certainly didn’t display any assurances in a woefully poor defensive line.
Daniel Amartey: 0/10: He was brought on, and his memorable contributions included conceding a corner from a comical pass back to Danny Ward, and giving away a free-kick which Alexis MacAllister emphatically scored for Brighton’s 5th goal.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: N/A: Came on and chased shadows like the rest of the team.
Jamie Vardy: N/A: Same as above.
Brendan Rodgers: 0/10 – This has to be the final nail in the coffin. Our defensive frailties are there for all to see, and no fight or hunger amongst the players tells you a lot. If anything, City were fortunate that it was just the five goals.