Leicester City are back! It’s been a while since the foxes fans sampled Premier League victory – Just shy of three months to be exact, and this was an emphatic way to return to winning ways against a defensively hopeless Aston Villa. The key stats from whoscored.com told the stories of this game, spoiler alert – the new signings might just have turned the season around.
Leicester City’s Tete
- 6 successful dribbles
- 3 shots attempted
- 4 fouls won
- 1 goal scored
A star has arrived! It’s been a long time since we had an exciting right-sided player who likes to run with the ball. Tete was a revelation on his debut and already has the Leicester City fans excited about his future at the club.
The six successful dribbles – a season-high for any Leicester player , offered the balance that the foxes desperately craved. Displaying a smart first touch, strong positional sense and high energy, he was able to cut in on his left foot with an eye for goal with the most shots attempted of any foxes player. Tete’s ball retention was superb, determined to never give the ball away which garnered the most fouls won of any of the blue army’s players.
This was all rounded off by an excellently timed run, touch and smart finish for a debut goal that sent the away support crazy at half-time. Following the game BBC Radio Leicester co-commentator Matt Piper exemplified how all City fans were feeling about our new Brazilian star:
"“I’ve not been excited about a Leicester player for some time, as much as I am with him”"
Kelechi Iheanacho
- 1 goal
- 2 assists
- 3 times dispossessed
- 4 fouls committed
- 1 man of the match
One player who seemed to benefit most from a quality wide right player was our beloved Kelechi Iheanacho. For years we have struggled to fit him in as the lone striker as he likes to drop deep and find pockets of space behind the play. Brendan Rodgers sagely recognised that Kelechi could benefit more than the erratic Patson Daka and Jamie Vardy from Tete’s stretching of the right-hand side and it was rewarded in spades.
The first equalising goal displayed so much, after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall hustled the ball back to Iheanacho he calmly played it to James Maddison whose feign sent Ezri Konsa sliding all the way to the bullring before slotting in. The former Manchester City man’s diving header just before halftime was classic peeling off the defender’s shoulder before powering in. Then just before halftime, he played an inch-perfect through ball for Tete’s first Leicester City goal.
This was all enough to bag Iheanacho the man of the match award but he still can display some of his his more frustrating tendencies. He was the most dispossessed player and conceded the most fouls of any foxes player. He also missed an easy one-on-one chance at the start of the second half that could have eased the pressure on the result much earlier. He deserves to start at home to Spurs but will also need to improve in a few areas.
Viktor Kristiansen
- 6 tackles
- 4 crosses
The new Danish left-back was another contender for man of the match, marshalling his side expertly throughout the game with aggression and strength that kept Leon Bailey quiet. He seems far more assured on the ball and doesn’t panic with an excellent reading of his opponent’s runs. His tackling was solid throughout with the joint most of the match with Timothy Castagne. He was also the most prolific at crossing attempts – even if none found their target. His reaction to one of his cleared crosses was to sharply play in Harvey Barnes who delivered an excellent cross for Iheanacho’s goal. All in all another successful Premier League debut.
Harry Souttar
- 7 Clearances
- 4 aerial challenges won
- 1 own goal
The record books will show that Harry Souttar had a poor debut, putting through his own net in the first half. But it was an unfortunate deflection that could have gone anywhere and masks how solid Souttar was throughout.
Admittedly he will need to adjust to the pace of the Premier League quickly, but he imposed himself on the game with the most clearances and won the most aerial challenges as would be expected from his stature. One key moment came when he robbed Ollie Watkins with an excellent tackle to deny him a shot on goal.
He will have better games, but this was far from a poor performance from the Australian international who showed plenty of promise. All of a sudden the prospect of playing three so-called big names in a row doesn’t have the same fear it once did. Leicester City might be a team to not take so lightly anymore.