Leicester’s September stats reviewed: attack part 2

In part one of this article, Leicester City’s shooting stats and forward play was analyzed. This part will analyze the midfield, scrutinizing the data on passing, carries and touches.

Leicester’s data from August suggested problems in breaking down defenses and creating good chances for themselves, owing to low possession and play in the opposition penalty box. September has been a month of vast improvement from the Foxes.

Big chances created

Leicester created a measly six big chances in August. The Foxes however found their rhythm and managed to create a staggering 19 big chances in September, a much needed increase from the previous month. Leicester have also proved to be clinical in the box, making them even deadlier

Leicester City’s passing

The Foxes struggled to get the ball into the penalty box in August, managing just 29 passes which was only 14th best in the league. There was much more incisive passing the following month. Leicester recorded 51 passes into the opposition penalty box, the joint fourth highest in the league. They complemented the 51 passes with a further 15 completed crosses into the penalty area, triple of what they managed in August. The Foxes ended the month as league leaders for passes completed into the attacking third with 196 successful passes.

Touches

Despite the vast number of touches Leicester had in August, they were rather a bit tame with it. There were minimal touches in the attacking third and the opposition penalty box, limiting their attacking threat. That month, Leicester had 90 touches in the opposition penalty box (22.5 touches per game) which was 12th highest. September saw the Foxes enjoy 147 touches in the penalty area (29.4 touches in games) which was an impressive 2nd highest in the league.

Breaking them down to percentages of their total number of touches, Leicester City had 3.97% of their total touches in the opposition penalty box (8th highest in the league) in September, a major improvement from the 2.93 percent the previous month (19th highest).

Carries

The Foxes managed 43 successful progressive carries into the penalty box in September, enjoying much more success penetrating the opposition area than they did in August (21 carries). This was the highest in the league and the difference was shown in two of the three penalties Leicester won, which involved a player carrying the ball into the penalty box.

Insights

This was a much better month for Leicester in terms of performance. While they showed grit and spirit to register closely fought victories last month, September saw them dominate games and punish teams ruthlessly. The Foxes registered impressive wins away at Southampton, Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers, all of whom were made to seem significantly inferior than they actually are.

Leicester have shown that they are capable of overwhelming teams which come at them, but they are yet to prove whether they can dominate teams who sit back against them. They fell to defeat against Hull City at home while they showed some struggle in creating chances against Bristol City. Upcoming games against Swansea, Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers will be a good test of their mettle. Overall, this has been an excellent month for Leicester and a testament to Enzo Maresca’s coaching and the promise of constant improvement he made at the beginning of the season.