3 things learned as Leicester fall to another defeat
By Ethan Henson
After a severe humbling from Newcastle United and a spirited but unfortunate defeat to Liverpool, Leicester City headed in to last night’s fixture at home to Fulham knowing it was one they really had to win. The Boxing Day defeat was bruising for the Foxes, but signs of optimism were resurrected as they performed better on the night against a well below-par Jurgen Klopp side last Friday.
Tuesday’s fixture then became huge, with Brendan Rodgers’ men knowing defeat could see them sucked back towards the relegation fight, particularly with four of the teams below them playing against each other and therefore at least two guaranteed to pick up points. And defeat it was, as Aleksandr Mitrovic’s sole strike in the first half proved enough for Fulham to climb back into 7th place, only behind Liverpool on goal difference.
City are right back in the mire having seemingly pulled clear, with their next Premier League engagement at Nottingham Forest after a brief hiatus for two cup matches. Here at Foxes of Leicester, we decided to list three things learned from Leicester City 0-1 Fulham.
The World Cup has done Leicester City no good
Prior to the non-conventional mid-season break for the World Cup, Brendan Rodgers’s side were on something of a roll, leaving the ghosts of their woeful season start behind them, with players like Danny Ward and Daniel Amartey performing at a much higher level than they had previously. There were seven Foxes who made the trip to Qatar, and not one returned in a better position than they left.
The two mentioned above were out in the group stage, along with the Belgian trio of Youri Tielemans, Timothy Castagne and Wout Faes, with the latter not playing a single minute. James Maddison has now missed the last three City games after returning from England, with Nampalys Mendy the most likely to have been least affected by the season’s stoppage.