At a raucous Elland Road, Leicester City secured a hard-fought point against fellow strugglers Leeds United, taking them one point clear of the drop zone. After securing victory late against Wolves, the Foxes travelled to Elland Road optimistic of another positive result. Despite controlling the early stages, LCFC found themselves behind after 20 minutes and then struggled to create clear-cut chances.
It was not until the introduction of Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka that Leicester began to take a strong grip on the tie, and heavy pressure eventually told as Vardy equalised with ten minutes to go. Whilst LCFC finished the stronger, having another goal disallowed for offside, both sides had to settle for a less-than-ideal point. Ultimately, an away point suits Leicester more, with Leeds facing a more difficult run-in, despite the Foxes arguably deserving to win on the basis of the chances.
Here are three things that FOL learned from Tuesday’s draw:
Jamie Vardy’s magic
Many Leicester City fans could have been forgiven for thinking Jamie Vardy was finished at the top level. Indeed, it appeared this way with the striker only scoring one league goal prior to Tuesday’s game. Nevertheless, his introduction against Leeds reminded us that perhaps there’s more life left in the 36-year-old. Vardy put in a positive cameo performance, scoring in trademark fashion and having another disallowed for offside. Despite only having seven touches, he displayed great efficiency which has been sorely missing this season.
With Kelechi Iheanacho likely to be out after suffering a groin injury, Vardy may well return to the starting line-up and with fellow strugglers Everton up next, a return to prolonged form would be most opportune.
Dean Smith has instilled fight and desire into Leicester City
After Leicester City’s insipid loss at Bournemouth just a few weeks ago, many were resigned to the prospect of relegation. Whilst LCFC are still in a battle to survive, Dean Smith can be credited for giving the Foxes much-needed hope. Since the Bournemouth result, Leicester have picked up four points out of a realistic six on offer. This has seen the probability of relegation fall from 48% to 27% according to FiveThirtyEight.
Such an upturn in fortunes has coincided with the resurgence of several players. Boubakary Soumare and Caglar Soyuncu again showed their qualities, and the latter continues to make a mockery of Rodgers’ decision to freeze him out.
It looks likely that Leicester City will need two more wins to survive, but the battling display against Leeds showcased that the players have a new determination and resolve to overcome adversity. Such mental qualities will be invaluable in the upcoming weeks, as long as it is accompanied by enough quality as well. The impact such performances have had on the fanbase can be illustrated by the vocal LCFC support that has been at its best in recent weeks.
That being said, the failure to keep clean sheets and also the habit of conceding first is something the Foxes must root out. LCFC have conceded first in 16 matches this calendar year alone.
The Left-Back (and right-winger) conundrum
Despite the positives that can be taken from the game, it would be ignorant to avoid the poor performances of certain players. Victor Kristiansen was the unfortunate weakest link in the game and registered a 5.9 rating on Sofascore to back it up. He had a tough time sticking with Jack Harrison and was at fault for the goal, losing his man far too easily. On the ball, he was equally poor and did little to aid Leicester City going forward whilst often losing possession with aimless long balls.
Unfortunately, the only alternative in this position would be Luke Thomas, who has come under similar criticism when he was in the team. However, with Harvey Barnes now available, does Dean Smith trust the academy product to work in combination with Barnes? Perhaps this would allow for a more joined-up performance on the left-hand side.
Another poor performer in the game was Tete who has failed to match the levels he showed on his debut. Against a porous Leeds defence, Tete failed to test his opposition fullback, preferring to go backwards or sideways. Furthermore, it seemed at times that the Brazilian was not on the same wavelength as his teammates, with attacks often slowing down when they came through to him. It is so frustrating that such promise has not been fulfilled, given the fact that many fans believed he could be the long-awaited heir to Riyad Mahrez.
However, once again, a lack of options means that replacing him would mean taking James Maddison out of his central role or perhaps playing Dennis Praet there instead. Perhaps against Everton, we may see ‘Madders’ revert to the right-sided position that he performed so well in earlier this season. If Tete were to get another chance, and we are all desperate for him to succeed, he needs to showcase the qualities that attracted LCFC to sign him.