Regrettably, Leicester City were not able to steal a point or more at Stamford Bridge in defeat to a rather soulless Chelsea. The Blues are indeed more of a force under latest manager Enzo Maresca. Of course, the Italian oversaw a great term with LCFC, albeit in the second English division known as the Championship. But CFC, with their many injury problems and plethora of overpriced and uncertificated stars, were kind of there for the taking.
While the visiting side were notably more solid than usual this season, Leicester were fairly impotent going forward on the day. At least the east Midlands outfit seemed up for the game. And the matchday squad had to get used to a relatively revolutionary system alteration. The Foxes boss went from a slightly rigid 4-3-2-1 to a 5-2-3 which could also double as a roughly 3-5-2 hybrid.
But why did the Dutchman switch his style up for what is typically be challenging away experience at the Bridge? And did his invention work for the King Power club? Luckily for us, van Nistelrooy has explained the changes he made for the trip to west London. So let's find out what the twice Manchester United man had to say about Sunday's match.
Ruud van Nistelrooy explains slightly radical Leicester City system and formation alterations
This was an experiment which actually went pretty well. However, when some of the Blue Army fan base noticed the lineup, they were a bit confused and concerned that Chelsea would 'batter' them. Yet this isn't anything like an archetypal Chels squad at the moment.
Thankfully for LCFC, their new three or five-at-the-back setup worked in the capital. We have finally witnessed van Nistelrooy's apparent 'defensive structure' obsession come to fruition.
I know City were eventually beaten, but further positives emerged at the weekend. Interestingly, RvN explained his decision:
"It was to create more defensive stability, with the amount of goals against a worry. Also, with more people in and around Jamie (Vardy) up front to give him that support. I think that also worked well."RvN