Unlike other agonizing experiences for Leicester City fans, this one in particular will hurt for a long time. Not just because the side performed worse against Liverpool than it did a week ago against Fulham, but as a consequence, this effort felt like an apt send-off for the survival hopes narrative.
A first-half brace from LFC’s 22-year-old midfielder Curtis Jones was complemented by a staggering free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold into the second half. Championship football is now becoming a reality for next season.
Leicester City sits 19th in the table after failing in 22 Premier League games this campaign. Losing the next fixture against Newcastle will bid farewell to their top-flight status if Everton wins against Wolverhampton. Permutations about mathematical logic would say that the Foxes are still in it, but the pragmatists know better.
Dean Smith is more useful at addressing the fans’ concerns, but in terms of a managerial standpoint, even he- at times, leaves us perplexed with his methodologies. Sure, Brendan Rodgers was no better, but Smith is neither a relegation specialist nor holds a penchant for turning things around quickly.
Smith’s appointment was not an ideal fit by any stretch of the imagination. With one win out of six, games under the new manager have failed to show any real improvement.
Credit where credit is due, the Englishman has tightened the ropes sending a clear message to his squad of players. The club thought to rescind the end-of-season ceremonies for now, with the boss revoking a predetermined day off for his team after their humiliation at Craven Cottage.
Traditionally, the Blue Army expected a significantly better display when they held a home advantage against the Reds last night. Then a familiar lackluster performance from the Foxes only piled on the season-long misery.
Leicester City’s shambolic backline
Like Fulham, Liverpool had no issues carving out Leicester City’s defense. Though unlike previous iterations- it was somehow more leaky this time, as the Reds exploited the Foxes for their inefficiencies.
Ricardo Pereira, Jonny Evans, and Wout Faes stood misplaced while tracking one oppositional player, while Curtis Jones remained unattended to make his run into the box. Boubakary Soumaré saw that and sprinted hard to close down the uncontested midfielder, but his effort was in vain, with LFC leading soon after.
A beautifully-timed run before a clinical finish from @curtisjr_10 to open the scoring 👌 pic.twitter.com/P02n8rqmwr
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 15, 2023
Similar mishaps transpired during the second goal when the backline focused on Cody Gakpo and Mo Salah when Jones made another run without anyone batting an eye on the threat. Individual brilliance from Trent earned the visitors will all three points in a game where the hosts lacked the fundamentals while preparing their man-marking strategies.
A lack of identity plagues the Foxes
For a long-long time, the King Power club has developed its unique identity of capitalizing from counter-attacking approaches. Those traits are long forgotten, which could have come in handy if the side was not so rusty in their offensive plays in the final third.
Jamie Vardy is a shell of his former self. Without a fit Kelechi Iheanacho or having a reliable asset in Patson Daka, Smith has no options when it comes to leading the frontlines. If Rodgers got sacked early, the new appointment could have found proper time, reworking to tweak the squad- but Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha’s indecisiveness has cost the club to cope with this shortage.
No passion or heart
Fans have displayed their disappointment in players- who are not trying hard enough. The same thing repeated yesterday, after the Reds went up the fight which withstood for the first twenty minutes was nowhere to be seen.
Other sides in this year’s relegation fight have tremendously shown a sense of urgency in fighting to stay up. Rivals Nottingham Forest, Everton, and Leeds have worn their hearts on their sleeves in a last-ditch effort. An effort vanished from our camp.