Ipswich 1-1 Leicester: Three things we learnt from dreadful result

A defensive shape to last

That was not the defensive structure or shape the King Power side need to survive in the Premier League. We are giving away too many cheap goals, letting opponents get into great positions with plenty of time to strike well for our net, and Leicester City are failing to adequately contain players.

Just look at how Nottingham Forest under Nuno Espírito Santo managed to effectively contain Leicester players and prevent us from creating gilt-edge chances. Without the ball, Forest went into two compact lines with one to two players staying much farther upfield, either wide or central depending on how many stayed up front. This allowed them to limit the space creative players such as Fatawu and Buonanotte could use to impact the game with their talent.

The compound this, there was a marauding pressure applied whenever a Leicester player had the ball in the final third or in any potentially dangerous positions. As such, no Fox was able to get a strong chance on goal from open play, and no Fox was capable of doing anything beyond a wasteful slice of the ball in a broadly goal-bound trajectory. Ipswich followed this formula as well.

So, Steve Cooper should of course be looking at these effective structures and shapes, then applying the same principles for the Foxes. First, when out of possession, one of your wingers needs to form a line of four with the midfielders. Second, those lines must be balanced between players who can retain and carry the ball and those who can take risks to break a press. Third, these lines must be compact, narrow, and stick the tallest in the centre. Finally, your explosive and pacy forwards must stay forward, going wide to stretch the defence and offer a long-pass option for defenders.