Foxes of Leicester
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Leicester 0-2 Blackburn: 3 talking points in defeat for the Champions

Leicester City finally lift the trophy, securing their aim of going straight back up. However, it ended in defeat for the Champion Foxes who should have made the match a parade. Nevertheless, there is plenty to talk about post-game

By Elliot Mackness

Leicester City v Blackburn Rovers - Sky Bet Championship
Leicester City v Blackburn Rovers - Sky Bet Championship / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages
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The King Power club ended the campaign with a loss to Blackburn who had only two shots on target. Both of those were scored. Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca's men had over 70% of the ball and failed to put one between the net. At least this game did not matter to our aspirations.

The win against Preston North End confirmed the title, so this was merely a luxury match for the Foxes. They still ended up with 14 shots, only seven on target, yet scoring none of them. Blackburn illustrated why a strong and determined defence mixed with an on-form goalkeeper can keep any team in any game for as long as necessary to get the points: that is something we have to work on.

The Champions' vulnerabilities

Maresca's side are of course filled with quality. Abdul Fatawu, Stephy Mavididi, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Harry Winks to name but a small number of the high-quality talent that litters the pitch. Yet, technical brilliance and possessive dominance means nothing without the mentality, tactical versatility, and in-game management to truly control games.

Just having the ball for the majority of the match does not necessarily dictate that you are in control of a game. Quite the opposite: it indicates that your opposition are okay with you having that high a number. Blackburn's game plan was simple: control the flow of the ball into less threatening areas to that Leicester's chances were either going to have to be world-class long range shots or slashed at close range attempts.

The away team had the mentality to defend well, the versatility to spring forth on the counter to devastating effect, and made the right calls for substitutions to impact the game and bury any chances that the Champion Foxes could have had at creating a gilt-edge opportunity on goal. This is a vulnerability for Leicester City.

We have quality yet only in most games do we demonstrate the collective mentality to behave like the champions we deserved to be. The East Midlands giants did not control where the ball was going, and was at the behest of Blackburn positional mistakes to launch their attacks. There was no versatility to change the game up. There was no plan B.

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