Sunderland 0-1 Leicester City: Three Standout Foxes in Important Victory

The King Power travellers saw out former giants Sunderland with only one goal separating the sides. With only 51% possession, and less shots than the opposition, Leicester were fighting to gain control of the tie in the second half. Nevertheless, they performed well and created the chance that Jamie Vardy would finish off.

Leicester City’s Standout Performers

1. Jamie Vardy

Speaking of Jamie Vardy, he is of course one of the standout performers. Left out of the starting XI for a long while as Patson Daka hit his stride and fell off a bit, the legendary forward came in and showed the other three strikers how it is done. With two shots, both on target, one goal, he may not have had many go’s, but he took the one that counted. Clinical.

2. Mads Hermansen

The Danish goalkeeper was rightly criticised in-light of previous results with having few saves to make but making very few. This match was quite the opposite. Sunderland created chances, 17 total. six on target, and of course Hermansen saved all six of them. Much improved, more confident, and more of what Maresca will want to see. We also saw his usual composure when passing to his backline.

3. Abdul Fatawu

Abdul Fatawu has been a revelation at Leicester City. The Foxes star occupies a strange position of not being particularly clinical but offering two elements to his game which were on show against Sunderland: technical excellence, and defensive acumen. He won all his aerial duels, six out of nine ground duels, made tackles, clearances, and also completed all his dribble attempts. So, he beats defenders, disrupts attackers, and creates chances. Revolution.

Honourable Mentions

It can sometimes be harsh to not mention some players. For example, Conor Coady finally given his chance to shine, and we did not concede, got our first league win in four matches, kept a clean sheet, and the player performed well. Against Sunderland, the English defender made plenty of defensive actions, showed a Jonny Evans-style composure in tackling, while being more proactive. Simply a brilliant defender that should continue to start.

Furthermore, Callum Doyle came back in for his first league start in a long time. The English centre-back/left-back was integral to our early Championship form, and it is not surprising that his return heralded another win. Although not the best defensive performance, Leicester’s Doyle was progressive, took on midfielders to take possession forward, and linked up well with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Harry Winks, and Stephy Mavididi.

These players must start should the Foxes hope to continue to rebuild their form and stop faltering in the Championship title race. Next up will be Hull City: another tough match against a compact defensive structure.