3 Leicester players who impressed against Wolves

Leicester City’s hopes of Premier League survival were given a huge boost on Saturday after the Foxes edged past Wolves in a 2-1 win. Dean Smith’s 600th game as a manager started in the worst way possible, a sloppy Youri Tielemans pass gave away possession and the impressive Matheus Cunha put the visitors ahead.

Truth be told though, Leicester were the better side in the game and when Jamie Vardy was chopped down by Jose Sa after a vintage run, Kelechi Iheanacho slotted away the following penalty to even things before the break.

After a series of saves from Sa, LCFC finally scored the winner following beautiful build up from Patson Daka and Boubakary Soumare; the ball was played out to Victor Kristiansen whose low cross was found by fellow full-back Timothy Castagne, and the Belgian slotted the ball away to blow the roof off the King Power.

Wolves did their best to get a late equaliser but Daniel Iverson produced a fine save to deny Ruben Neves from a free-kick. Fans cheered with a mixture of elation and relief come the final whistle as the Foxes did enough to win their first game since 11th February.

The win lifts Smith’s side out of the relegation zone and fills the team with much needed confidence ahead of their next two season-defining fixtures away to Leeds on Tuesday, followed by the visit of Everton next Monday. Here are Foxes of Leicester’s picks for the three most impressive players on Saturday.

Jamie Vardy of Leicester City

It’s been a rotten season for the Leicester legend, with Vardy’s only league goal coming away against Wolves. Now 36, it’s the decline in performance that pundits have been trying to predict for the last four seasons. Still, despite the drop in form, Vardy is a leader and a key part to Smith’s plans.

With injuries to James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, and Ricardo Pereira, Smith’s attacking options were stretched, but with the manager wanting to take the game to Wolves, he elected to start all three of his strikers with Daka playing on the wing, Kelechi Iheanacho as a CAM, and Vardy leading the line.

From the start, Vardy was looking to directly impact the game and he nearly helped open the scoring inside the opening moments. His run was found by Iheanacho and he evaded the challenge of Sa to square the ball to Tete, the Brazilian’s shot, however, was blocked by a panicking Wolves defence – the winger is still looking for his first goal since his debut finish against Aston Villa.

It was the type of run we expect of Vardy and, whilst he did find it difficult to break the game open consistently, he was at it again when his curling run was found by Iheanacho, this time the striker drew the foul from Sa and a penalty was awarded. Having rolled his ankle in the collision, penalty duty was passed to Iheanacho who cooly converted.

Vardy was substituted at half time due to his ankle injury, but Dean Smith was full of praise for his forward following the game and gave the all-clear for Leeds during his pre-match conference on Monday:

"“His ankle’s fine, he’ll be training this morning and available. We put him in positions against Wolves that we want him in. The early chance, the penalty he won. Those are the sort of chances we need to create for him.” Dean Smith via Twitter"

Boubakary Soumare

You could be forgiven for thinking that Soumare’s chance at Leicester had gone given his cataclysmic performance away to Blackburn in the FA Cup in February. Before that, the 24-year-old had already suffered a disappointing debut season last year resulting in rumours of the Foxes considering offloading the midfielder.

On Saturday though, we saw a completely different side to the man. He was kept quiet in the first half, but it was in the second 45 minutes in which he really came into his own.

Soumare was crucial in the defence of midfield with the Frenchman winning two tackles, securing nine recoveries, and gaining two interceptions. He frequently pushed and hurried his opponents as the Foxes looked to edge out a win.

But it wasn’t just in defence where Soumare shined, he played a pivotal role in Castagne’s winner. A neat one-two with Patson Daka saw space open up on the left flank for Kristiansen and the defender was found by a perfectly weighted pass from Soumare. With the pass spot on, the Danish international took one touch and then sent a lovely ball into the patch of Castagne who did the rest. Added to that, the midfielder also contributed to four dribbles throughout the 90, showing his ability both in attack and defence.

With Wilfred Ndidi’s startling drop-off in form, and both Tielemans and Papy Mendy set to leave in the summer, Soumare has a chance to nail down a spot in the midfield for several seasons to come. If he can keep delivering like he did on Saturday, he could quickly find himself a key player to Dean Smith.

Caglar Soyuncu

Leicester City’s man of the match, Caglar Soyuncu reminded fans just how good he can be. Having been cast away by Brendan Rodgers after a torrid last season – a campaign in which no particular defender did themselves any real credit – many were pining for his return following the arrival of Dean Smith.

Smith did just that and handed Soyuncu only his third league appearance against Manchester City last week. Clearly impressing the interim manager, Soyuncu received his second successive start against Wolves and he was imperious.

Clearly filled with confidence from a manager who believes in him, the Turkish international was a defensive rock against the West Midlands visitors. He won 100% of his duels – both on the ground and in the air – clocking a total of 11 duels won, the most of anyone on the pitch.

Not only that, but Soyuncu also tallied a total of two blocks, seven clearances, one interception and seven recoveries, all whilst retaining a perfect discipline record. The best player on the pitch, he nearly capped off his performance with a goal after the ball fell to him following a corner kick, but his powerful effort was smartly palmed away by Sa.

It was a game to further embarrass his former manager, with Soyuncu and Faes making a solid partnership together: both being able to play from the back or ping accurate long balls to the likes of Vardy or Tete. With Harry Souttar on the bench, he’ll be scratching his head as to how he can displace Soyuncu following that display – though Smith clearly trusts all three to be able to play together.

The only downside to the game is that it looks even more likely that the 26-year-old (who is still yet to reach his full potential) will be leaving the King Power for nothing come the summer, Atletico Madrid are getting closer to securing his services on a pre-contract agreement.

If Soyuncu keeps playing like this, he’ll be making the Atletico fans mouth’s water at the prospect of his signing, whilst Foxes fans will be ruing his mistreatment by Rodgers. Who knows, if Smith had arrived sooner, we could have seen Cags extend his stay at Leicester City.