Palace 2-1 Leicester: 3 good and bad Foxes

The narrative of this season is becoming progressively painful for Leicester City fans as another matchday ended in misery.

An away visit to Crystal Palace looked like the perfectly presented opportunity for the Foxes to bounce back from their string of bad performances, but it wasn’t to be as the Eagles found their rhythm back with Roy Hodgson’s return to Selhurst Park.

A managerial change could show an impact instantly on a struggling side- who knew, right? The Glaziers played on their strengths. It caught Brendan Rodgers and his men off guard, for which the Foxes failed to retain the ball or make any progressive breakthroughs for the first 45 minutes.

The two sides were playing in contrast. While Palace was robust in its approach, City looked timid and lost. The hosts dominated the game with an xG of 2.42 compared to the visitors’ 0.22. A rejuvenated Palace deserved to open the scoring, but they were unlucky not to.

Ricardo Pereira scored during the 56′ minute from a stunning strike out of the box, which was equalized three minutes later from a Palace free kick. The horror came later, in the dying moments, when Jordan Ayew found Jean-Philippe Mateta in the box, who put in a precise finish to snatch the victory at 90+4 minutes.

The result put Leicester City into the danger zone directly. With ten exact Premier League games in hand, the manager succeeding Rodgers needs to pull off something miraculous if he wants to show off that the fans booing him were wrong about doubting his credentials.

3 Leicester City players who stood out for right and wrong reasons

Wout Faes- A contributing factor that stood between and prevented the hosts from pulling away with a lead was courtesy of the Belgian centre-back.

Faes made a few brilliant blocks and interceptions that kept Palace stranded and frustrated in the first half. If it wasn’t for him or Iversen, the first-half score could have looked very different from a stalemate.

It shows some players are still fighting actively to stay up, while the rest of the team, along with the manager, have given up long ago.

Daniel Iversen- We can’t even imagine what the scoreline would have looked like if Danny Ward had started in between the sticks for the East Midlanders instead.

The major takeaway from this game is that Daniel Iversen played his heart out, influencing the game and giving Leicester City a fighting chance with his reliable stature. He made eight brilliant saves against a side that had registered 31 shots in total.

The Danish goalkeeper is making a mark with his limited opportunities. Surely, that is one of the few positive signs emerging out of another humiliating loss. He should undoubtedly be the number one choice for the goalkeeping role for Rodgers for the remainder of the season.

Tetê- Leicester City players were operating on different wavelengths. It cut off the supply line for the attackers completely. The Brazilian was withdrawn after the first half as he failed to influence the game.

Tetê has made eight appearances, and he has impressed us very little. It’s safe to say that his loan move might not materialize if we survive the season. The left-footed winger looks raw, missing consistency in showing off the traits that one often looks for in a Brazilian.

What’s next at KPS?

The two immediate games are at the King Power Stadium against Aston Villa and Bournemouth, which can give the side at least one much-needed win. However, things are dire as 17 losses already in the forgettable season are displaying the lack of quality that stems from the directionless management.

The outfit is in demand for 15 points from 10 games. A task that is not impossible, but improbable at this juncture. We have just sacked the gaffer – but is it too little too late?