Much like today’s weather in Huddersfield, I couldn’t make up my mind about how I felt this game would go. Leicester City FC travelled to John Smith’s stadium for their second league match of the season. Leicester played well in their first league match, as well as their first cup tie, but they have been very different games. Today’s match-up seemed before kickoff to be an automatic win for Enzo Maresca’s Fellow Foxes given impressions of the opponent before the game, but the Terriers were intent on spoiling a potential Vardy party in the making.
Although this game wasn’t a domineering performance like we saw against their League Cup opponents Burton Albion, I believe this performance offered many more insights into how this team will play moving forward. The effort put in by HTFC tested LCFC in certain aspects of their game that should give fans excitement, as well as trepidation. I picked out three players who stood out for me in Leicester’s 1-0 victory away from home.
Securing the bronze today is a name I’m sure we’ll all be praising as the season goes on, despite butchering it constantly myself, Wanya Marcal-Madivadua. The Portuguese had another solid performance registering a 93% pass completion, completing four of six dribbles, winning 50% of his ground duels and winning one out of one in the air. Marcal continues to grow under Maresca’s guidance, making well timed runs throughout his time on the pitch.
The winger’s positional sense is there as he seems to be a well used outlet for his teammates when under pressure. He still needs to improve in some aspects of his game, mainly his decision making in the final third. He had a wild shot over the bar as well as a pretty crucial misplaced pass, having joined the three on one Leicester had breaking up the field.
Overall Marcal played well and displayed great awareness when receiving the ball under pressure. He drifted away from defenders with ease at times and once his close control dribbling improves he will be an especially dangerous player breaking up the pitch. I have every belief that as the season progresses the coaching staff will be working closely with him to improve his recognition of correct passing options on the break.
Donning the silver in my ratings is Leicester City’s own ‘Sideshow Bob’, Wout Faes. He seems to also be growing more in his role within this new system game by game. The Belgian center-half was dominant defensively notching eight clearances, three tackles, and dropping a cool 88% pass completion through his 90 minutes on the pitch. He also managed to come out on top in five of six ground duels and oddly again, has been seen advancing up the pitch completing 50% of his attempted dribbles.
Faes looks an assured defender in this set up, using his body well against opponents and looks cool when being harried or when stepping up toward opponents before making a pass. I noted the Belgian defender attempting a few long balls throughout the game which didn’t seem to come off. I’m sure its something the manager has identified to attempt, but it would be nice if they were completed in the future!
I truly believe had it not been for the interventions Faes made throughout the game that, at the very least, Leicester City would have had to come from behind for the second league match in succession. Huddersfield came to play and at times seemed to have the Foxes’ number, choking the build up. The centreback continued to show his game reading ability against Neil Warnock’s side, extinguishing a handful of breakouts created from a Leicester turnover.
Standing on the big podium with his shiny gold medal as my top stand out is none other than Stephy Mavididi. While I know it’s cliche to pick the goal scorer for my best player two games in a row, apart from Callum Doyle (who deserves an honorable mention because technically he was the highest rated player for either team) there wasn’t another player who impressed me more.
Mavididi registered his first goal for the club, had a somewhat disappointing 71% pass completion, but two of those were key passes. Most impressively he won 66% of his ground duels, notched two tackles and nicked an interception to round out his solid defensive performance. In addition to all of this he managed to draw four fouls for Leicester; it seems as though the team may have finally found the winger we’ve been crying out for.
The Englishman was a constant threat from the first whistle and did not relent. He looks vastly experienced for a 25 year old, which one could attribute to his going abroad for games. Many pundits slight English talent for being too “homey” and Mavididi bucked the trend going to France. Surely the maturity and experience he gained from that journey will serve him in high pressure moments during Leicester‘s season.
Mavididi showed great recognition of the moment all game long, knowing when to speed his play up and when to hold the ball. Just to reiterate this point, he worked extremely hard on the defensive side of the ball which doesn’t always show up from a winger. He tracked back and put in challenges all game causing trouble for the Huddersfield offense. Once Mavididi beds into the team more and cleans up his crossing, I believe he can challenge Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for Leicester City’s player of the season.
This game proved to be significantly more challenging than most Foxes fans expected. Huddersfield employed various tactics to try and choke different parts of Leicester City’s game but the boys held firm, despite some scary moments. The pieces are starting to come together for the Fellow Foxes and if they can continue to grind out results like this while maintaining a steady level of progression within this system, the sky’s the limit for this side. Points record incoming? Guess we’ll see. Up the boys! LTID!