Leicester City 3-2 Millwall: Player ratings as Foxes return to summit

Starting XI:

Mads Hermansen: 6

It was a very quite night for the Dane. Not just in terms of the gloves. but due to the lack of a press implemented by the travelling side, Hermansen's distribution was not needed in terms of building play. He delt with some ariel balls into the box fairly well -as he often does- and frankly there was not much he could have done better for the two goals he conceded.

Ricardo Pereira: 7

His score would have been higher if not for a less than impressive first half display. Too many times the Leicester captain received the ball with a negative body position, resulting in a lack of progression with much of City's build-up through the middle. Of course this was partly down to the Millwall 5-3-2 set up out of possession, but there were occasions when Pereira had opportunities to receive the ball on the half-turn and progress the play through the middle which he was not able to exploit due to his body position. However an astute tactical decision by Enzo Maresca in the second half unlocked the Portuguese man's progressive play. By inserting him higher up the pitch into the right half-space. An area he is much more experienced operating in, due to his time as right-back. It was a huge reason for LCFC's second half comeback and win and him picking up a goal was simply the cherry on top.

Conor Coady: 5

Playing as the right-side of a back three -in possession- does not play to Coady's strong suits as a footballer. He is competent on the ball yes, however to make consistent progression in that area you have to be able to carry the ball, in order to either break through the lines, or to create better passing angles. Something that Wout Faes does extremely well and is why he is favoured in this role. It was not a bad display by any means, but that was partly down to Millwall's lack of a press. But even under little to no pressure Coady struggled to feed Abdul Fatawu who was Leicester's main threat in the first half. Unsurprisingly he was replaced by James Justin just before the hour mark.

Jannick Vestergaard: 6

A lofted cross-field pass intended for Conor Coady, but instead ended in no-mans-land. Resulting in an early goal for the away side was not a great way to get the game started. However, after that early somewhat blunder, Vestergaard did what he so often done this season for the Foxes and conducted the tempo of play throughout almost the entirety of the contest. Attempting to draw Millwall out of their very rigid and stubborn defensive structure. He also delt with much of the ariel balls that came his way, the only blemish on the performance was that early mistake leading to the opening goal. Other than that it was a very typical Vestergaard performance.

Wout Faes: 6

In the less than familiar position as the left centre-back/left-back, Faes showed good ball carrying and showed positive intent with his passing where he could. He wasn't particularly challenged defensively. But what he was opposed with he handled with relative ease. A solid performance and much improved from his display against Plymouth Argyle.

Harry Winks: 7

Like many of his teammates his second half display surpassed his first, due to the tactical change up made by Maresca during half-time. He was able to manipulate the opposition's midfield to how he saw fit and kept the ball ticking wonderfully. Winks also showed great ability to break the first line of the press on the half turn. Something that he does brilliantly at times, but probably not as frequent as he should. It was a very composed display by LCFC's number "8".

Wilfred Ndidi: 7

Inconsistently great would be the best way to describe his performance. In those key areas of the pitch where the goals are scored and created, Ndidi is inconsistently great. Doing poorly with his chance in the first half, spooning the ball over the bar as he leant back. Then in the second half doing phenomenal to lift the ball over the goal keeper with his left foot to provide Patson Daka with a simple tap in on the goal line. This kind of play has been very typical of the Nigerian's play this season. It is of course understandable since it being a new role, but if he can fix those technical deficiencies to his game, he very may well develop into a Premier League quality box-to-box midfielder. Something that would make most City fans burst into laughter hearing six months ago.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: 6

A much less influential game than what we are used to seeing from KDH. Partly because much of LCFC's joy came from the opposite side of the pitch to which he resided. But even with this being the case he made important tackles throughout, he kept the game ticking over, the ball never stuck with him. While also creating Leicester's equalizing goal. A well-rounded performance for City's talisman.

Abdul Fatawu: 8

What was a near flawless performance for the 19-year-old it was only relly missing a goal and or assist. In wide areas one on one, at this level he is nearly unplayable. Not only cutting inside on to his deadly left foot, but in fact, where he has most joy is on the outside of full-backs. He was also denied a clear and obvious penalty after showing a sensational piece of trickery, thus inviting the late challenge by Wes Harding. You felt he was almost kicked out of the game in the second half due to the amount of fouls commited on him by the away side. Showing this much improvement already under Maresca if the loanee can continue this level of development, then the rumoured obligated fee -£17 million- to make the move permanent will look like an absolute steal.

Stephy Mavididi: 6

A solid performance from Mavididi, he had much less joy up against Brooke Norton-Cuffy than Fatawu did with his opposing full-back, but was still fairly efficient at what he did do in the win. Also his tracking back added great value to his overall display.

Patson Daka: 7

For a player that seemed completely out of the manager's plans for the entirety of the campaign, scoring in back to back starts makes you start to question why. Especially when neither Kelechi Iheanacho or Jamie Vardy has shown the consistency to hold down that starting spot for themselves. Daka showed good link up play, even while being kicked off the park by the travelling team's centre-halves. in spite of this is intensity did not wane and he was rewarded with his goal shortly into the second period. These showings will surely give Maresca something serious to think about over the Christmas period when it comes to selection. Albeit a very privileged problem to have in that.

Substitutes:

James Justin: 6

Showed good composure in position and tracked runs very well, of course much of his cameo did not involve defending but what he needed to do he did fairly efficiently.

Tom Cannon: 5

His second substitute appearance for the Foxes, was very similar to his first as he was unable to have much of an impact and receive any service to make said impact. Thus a default score is given.

Dennis Praet: 5

Kept things ticking over as he does so well when he's playing regularly, on this occasion due to game state and the oppostion he didn't have any real effect onthe outcome.