Fulham 5-3 Leicester: 3 takeaways from a torrid affair

Maybe for the optimistic Leicester City supporters, the possibility of relegation is slowly settling in.

“You’re not fit to wear the shirt,” was the loud chant from the visitors’ end when the full-time whistle blew at Craven Cottage. Maybe for others, a 5-3 scoreline would sound like flattery, veiling the actual disaster that transpired within the 90 minutes.

It’s a sinking feeling. This feeling has been prevalent during the course of this campaign. With only 30 points, the Foxes have earned the right to perish into the second tier of English football.

Let’s take a closer look at three noticeable things from this torrid affair against Fulham.

Are the Foxes losing their appetite?

Against a newly promoted Fulham, there stood a sheer disparity between the difference of the two sides. Mind you- Marco Silva’s side had to fare without their prime marksman Aleksandar Mitrović. Still exporting five goals past Leicester felt like nothing.

James Maddison’s review on MOTD was straightforward- they were not hungry enough. Not hungry enough? The King Power club has a greater possibility of playing Championship football next season than surviving.

How long before there is a hunger to secure safety? It sounds unaccountable, but with a side still carrying that Brendan Rodgers DNA- it does sound believable. In Dean Smith’s last press conference, he told us that he knows that the players care about this team. Either we are blind, or the manager got fooled into thinking so.

Leicester City’s erroneous defense

A shambolic performance from the back four of Leicester City’s defense did not, at the very least, help their cause. Smith told us on Thursday that it was about time that LCFC kept a clean sheet. His drawn-out tactics, alongside some sloppy markings, left the side wondering what hit them. Without any purpose or intensity, they invited counter-attacks, open plays, and dead ball situations surmount over the leaky underbelly of the East Midlanders.

Fundamental goalkeeping errors

Daniel Iversen is a decent choice but not an adequate one. He is raw, inaccurate, and learning his duties on the job. Corresponding him against Danny Ward does make him stand tall, but who are we fooling? Neither of them are Premier League quality. Today that much was evident.

The first goal was a moment of indecisiveness that started Fulham to pile up their tally and pressure the visitors against the wall. Iversen needed his time to match his adaptability to the fast-paced action of the English top tier, and it’s too late to ponder this now. Maybe with Leicester in the Championship, the Dane matures and grows in due course with his capacity.

What’s next? Well, approximately enduring losses of over -£100 million a year in Television revenues. As per football finance expert Kieran Maguire, such an exorbitant loss would compound in making it back to the promised lands – a daunting task.