It was a tough challenge for Dean Smith in his first come with Leicester City. Against the second place Manchester City, his side lost 3-1. It was a horrendous first half in Etihad Stadium when Leicester went down 3-0 25 minutes into the game. However, the second half gave us more promise.
It was a significant formation change with Smith running the show. He decided to run a 5311 off the ball with an interchangeable system. Daniel Iversen remained in goal however, he had a five back in front of him instead of a four back. That wasn’t even the biggest surprise. For the first time since October, Çağlar Söyüncü made a start for the foxes. Timothy Castagne, Harry Souttar, Wout Faes, and Victor Kristiansen joined him in the back five. Youri Tielemans returned to the starting eleven as our captain with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Wilfred Ndidi, and James Maddison joining him in the midfield. Then LCFC legend Jamie Vardy was the sole striker up top.
Pep Guardiola came into the game with a 3241 formation. Ederson was their main man between the sticks as Kyle Walker, Rúben Dias, and Aymeric Laporte defended in front of him. John Stones and Rodri were holding midfielders while the next line consisted of former Leicester hero Riyad Mahrez, captain Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, and Jack Grealish. Then the always-threatening Erling Haaland was the sole striker up top.
Man City got the scoring off early in the 5’ minute. After a couple of headers around the box, Stones received it on the line and would volley the ball off of his weak foot, and would send it top bins. Very unfortunate luck for the east midlands side. The city would then get a penalty in the 13’ minute after an awful handball from Ndidi. Haaland would then finish the penalty to make it 2-0. The first half of clapping would not stop there. Haaland would find a goal in the 25’ when he dusted past the defense and slotted the ball in the bottom right corner.
It was a tough second half as well which saw the visitors make multiple substitutions for players who don’t get a lot of playing time. However, a 75’ corner from Maddison saw the ball get header by Souttar which would fall short of the goal. Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho would then tap the ball in to make the game a two-goal deficit. Momentum would really shift for the foxes after this. Madison stole the ball from Dias and almost scored a goal if it wasn’t saved by Ederson. Then in the 90’ Iheanacho had a shot that hit the inside of the post. Leicester had a real chance to pull off the miracle comeback, but they fell short losing 3-1.
Leicester City player ratings
Iversen 6- It was an ok performance from Iversen. He made a miraculous save against Mahrez in the second half. Also, the Stones goal was never his fault, that was an unreal shot. He also dove the right away for the Haaland pen. However, Haaland slotted it in the perfect spot. The second Haaland goal could have been a better attempt. Can’t really complain with his performance today.
Faes 5- Faes has one issue that I’ve been complaining about all season. His positioning is trash. He is always in the wrong spot and teams take advantage of it. He looks so lost when he is sprinting back trying to catch up. His tackling and his heart is impeccable however, he has no positioning IQ. With John Terry in charge, hopefully this can change soon.
Souttar 5- Souttar simply is useless when it comes to offensive headers. I hope one day he can start to use his height to his advantage. He wasn’t strong today defensively either. Just not a strong performance from our future captain.
Söyüncü 7- My player of the match. I will never understand why he wasn’t playing this whole season. Simply had to be a Brendan Rodgers personal agenda. He was great on defense and the way he can move the ball up the pitch is fantastic for a defender. I hope Smith continues to use him the rest of the season. I will be sad when he leaves us this summer. Very talented player.
Kristiansen 5- A bad game which hurts me to say because I love Kristiansen so much. However, he wasn’t strong defending today and his passing was bad. I have confidence he can improve from this performance. He’s been awesome this whole season. I don’t believe he’s fitted to be a LWB. He is much stronger as a LB.
Castagne 5- Another game where I can say with confidence that he didn’t contribute to the game.
Ndidi 3- Wallahi this player is finished. He’s a defensive midfielder who can’t defend. Two of the three goals were 100% his fault and this is something we’ve seen the whole season. His fall off needs to be studied because he was one of the best defensive midfielders in the league just a couple of seasons ago.
Tielemans 5- Just vibes out there. No flaws from this game but no strengths as well. First game back from injury so I’m figuring he was just getting the rust out of him.
KDH 4- Simply doesn’t contribute to the game. Can’t defend, can’t pass, can’t shoot. Just a whole bunch of blunders. Outside of falling over fouls, I don’t see why he plays.
Maddison 6- Despite the missed goal which could have made the game real interesting, Maddison continues to show why he’s one of the best in England. He can give you everything attacking wise.
Vardy 4- I hate to say this about a legend. But, I don’t want to see Vardy play for the rest of the season. Whenever he is on the pitch, we’re down to 10 men. Our attack is non existent when he is on the pitch. It might be time to hang up the boots.
Substitutes
Iheanacho 7- Has to be starting every game. No questions about it. Got us our goal and created chances to produce one or two more. LCFC is at their best this season when Iheanacho is up top.
Everyone else N/A.