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Middlesbrough 1-0 Leicester: 3 letdowns in first away defeat

By Mike Liberatore

HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: Enzo Maresca Head Coach of Leicester City during the Sky Bet Championship match between Huddersfield Town and Leicester City at the John Smith's Stadium on August 12, 2023 in Huddersfield, England. (Photo by John Early/Getty Images)
HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: Enzo Maresca Head Coach of Leicester City during the Sky Bet Championship match between Huddersfield Town and Leicester City at the John Smith's Stadium on August 12, 2023 in Huddersfield, England. (Photo by John Early/Getty Images) /
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MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 21: Manager of Middlesbrough Michael Carrick during the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Birmingham City at Riverside Stadium on October 21, 2023 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Ashley Allen/Getty Images)
MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 21: Manager of Middlesbrough Michael Carrick during the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Birmingham City at Riverside Stadium on October 21, 2023 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Ashley Allen/Getty Images) /

Second on my getting-coal-for-Christmas (too early?) list is Stephy Mavididi. This is another game that I’ve picked him in this ranking and I don’t want it to become a pattern. He seemed such a revelation early in the season and I don’t know what has happened. Maybe teams have figured him out, maybe he started believing his own hype? I’m not sure, but he didn’t look like he wanted to be there today.

He doesn’t seem to be up to speed as it were. I don’t know if he’s carrying a knock, or he is going through something personally in which case we all wish him the best. But when it came time to anticipate what his fellow teammates were going to do, he seemed like he was on dial up internet while his City colleagues were on a premium Starlink connection. Well, not all of them.

The last and most culpable person on my top 3 stinkers in our second straight loss has to be the one and only, Seniorman himself: Kelechi Iheanacho. What is it with this player? He can be incredible some weeks, and then just disappears. Someone needs to tell Iheanacho that Halloween is over; he doesn’t need to be a ghost anymore. Admittedly most of the team seemed off but the Nigerian striker was the poster boy for this lack of invention from Leicester City players today.

As sad as it is, the same way I described the performance of Mavididi is how I would sum up Iheanacho’s contribution: he looked lost. He was slow to make decisions, skied a great opportunity to take the lead, and generally looked like he hadn’t played with his teammates in months. No recognition of where to be, clumsy with the ball, turnovers galore.

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