Leicester City hosted money-spoilt Wrexham as the Foxes looked to get their EFL Championship campaign firing with more gusto and impact. Marti Cifuentes altered the team versus their previous games, and the impact was clearly visible throughout the tie. Initially, we saw some of the tweaks we had recommended, mixed with other good choices.
Unfortunately, the Spaniards second half substitutions coupled with tired legs and energetic changes from Wrexham led to a 1-1 tie despite initial optimism. However, it would be unfair to say the Foxes played poorly, the error mainly resting with the manager and a few wasteful passes. As such, let’s have a look at how the match played out and then choose three players who played well.
Leicester City v Wrexham Overview
The first half was a tale of sheer dominance and occasional defensive slip-ups from the home side. The King Power Club had over 70% of the possession, placing the travellers into a defensive game with occasional breaks on the transition with fast and direct passing to their pacy winger. However, they did not convert any of their chances.
It was Jordan James who converted first. Harry Winks, Jannik Vestergaard, Bobby Decordova-Reid, and Patson Daka were heavily involved throughout. Abdul Fatawu was kept mostly out of the game by constant double man-marking. This did give Jeremy Monga some moments, although he struggled to hit the big chances or find the final pass, sometimes opting for a shot when a pass would be a better choice. Such is the case with younger talents.
For the second half, Victor Kristiansen came on for Thomas. The early signs showed a continuation of the utter dominance they showed previously. This did not last. After Oliver Skipp and Stephy Mavididi were brought on, the Spanish head coach altered the shape to put James as the sole AM and use Skipp alongside Winks and Choudhury. This took all the energy out our game and eventually led to the Wrexham goal. No Jordan Ayew and Julian Carranza could really do anything when they were on.
Three Players who Performed well
I think I cannot pretend this list does not include Harry Winks. Despite being initially out of favour this season for Oliver Skipp or Boubakary Soumare, his return has been marked by clear changes to how Leicester City progress the ball, and the tempo with which they do it. Winks commands the tempo, appears to be ever-present in every Foxes move, and links everything together neatly.
During this match, his relationship with Hamza Choudhury and Vestergaard was interesting. The Dane would occasionally maraud forward or place a quick and direct pass - sometimes risky - into the path of the English midfielder, only for Choudhury and Winks to exchange quick passes before finding either James, Luke Thomas, or a winger. Winks links up play brilliantly and was the springboard for every forward-looking move we had.
It would be ignorant to not notice how good Jordan James was. Even during that more wasteful and lethargic second half, the first thing I can say about the midfielder is about the sheer work horse he is. Working alongside Reid in the first half and part of the second, James did well linking up play, making direct passes, and importantly posing a threat in the final third.
Of course, the player also scored Leicester City’s goal of the match after a brilliant interchange of play. However, his best contribution must have been his cooperation with Choudhury to win back possession by pressing players from both behind and infront of them to force errors or simply stick a leg in. The pair worked well in winning the ball before swiftly laying it off for mainly Winks.
At the back, I will - finally - give massive credit to Jannik Vestergaard. The Danish defender saved the King Power side from utter humiliation innumerable times in the match. Despite not possessing the pace to beat attackers, his strength and experience allowed the centre-back to position himself well for either the header of to block potential runs. Honestly, we could have lost by a lot more with a less seasoned defender in his position.
Additionally, when in transition, Vestergaard did well at finding that reaching long-ball or that swift direct passes through multiple compact Wrexham lines to fine Patson Daka, James, or one of our wingers. Some of the best moments started from a Vestergaard pass. He also chose his moments to go forward well, although this changed drastically when the shape was altered by Cifuentes. The Dane deserves a bit of praise for this one.
Despite the disappointing draw, it is fair to say we caught a glimpse of what an almost decided first team squad is capable of for a large portion of the match. Marti Cifuentes will have to learn when to change the shape and when to bring on like-for-like players in order to minimise the disruption to good performances in the future.
I would say, a Winks-Choudhury-James team-up seems to be our best progressive setup, and Daka definitely looked a better pick upfront. The only caveat needs to be the centimetres the Zambian missed two possible goals by. Otherwise, there were few performances by players which were poor in themselves.