Leicester City 0-1 Hull City: 3 reasons it went wrong for Enzo Maresca
By Will Kennedy
The lack of urgency
When Delap scored in the 15th minute, it would be fair to say that fans weren’t overly worried. With 75 minutes of the game yet to play, there was plenty of time to overturn the deficit. Ideally, the Foxes would find an equaliser before the break, but that never came.
Thankfully, it’s in the second half where Leicester have been able to turn games around. That’s the belief that fans had anyway, but the performance didn’t show.
It’s a defeat which, if fans are critical, they’d have seen coming. All of Maresca’s league wins have been only by a one-goal margin and the Foxes are yet to fully dominate an opponent. It’s not to say the football hasn’t been working, but they are yet to have an explosive impact on a game unlike their Championship rivals.
In each of their wins, Leicester have been let off the hook by either tight offside calls or by poor misses from good chances. Both Huddersfield and Cardiff City will have felt aggrieved to come empty handed from their games against LCFC.
Against Hull, City just weren’t urgent enough. It didn’t feel as if they truly turned the screw or peppered the box with chances and shots. Maresca’s side weren’t lazy or complacent – his system doesn’t allow for such a thing – and they were in control of the ball for a lot of the game, they just didn’t make that control count.
It’s a harsh lesson for both the team and for Enzo Maresca. It is still very early in his rebuild project. A defeat is probably good for the squad, the problems spoken about will be addressed and, hopefully, fixed in light of this. We’ve seen that the system can and does work, but the occasional hurdle is all part of the process. The project isn’t over because of a 1-0 defeat to Hull City.
Next. Leicester City’s August stats reviewed. dark
Leicester City’s next game is a tough trip to fellow relegated side Southampton who have been transformed under Russell Martin. It will be a sturdy test, but exactly what the Foxes need as they aim to fix the cracks from Saturday.