Brendan Rodgers had the chance of the century to get something out of this game with a certain Erling Haaland absent. Instead being bold and offensive he decided to stay deep and defend with every bone in the Leicester team.
Man City were given a free opportunity to run the show as Leicester just sat back with a five men defense, four in midfield and even at times having Jamie Vardy down on their own half more often than being inside the Man City penalty box.
Despite giving Man City the advantage Leicester looked controlled as Caglar Soyuncu was back in the team alongside Wout Faes and Daniel Amartey who all three had solid performances. This team do have qualities to be build from the back. Danny Ward also shows more stability, but still not the class goalkeeper Leicester need to bring crucial points to the bag.
Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes had a few chances as they were given some space, but it was far from satisfactory, but still late in the first half Leicester could have scored.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was taken off after 45 minutes, doing a number of errors with the ball, but still he is moving around and is a “pita” for the opponent. The change was an opportunity for Papy Mendy to again show momentum, but instead he made a fatal error that led to Man City scoring their winning goal.
Mendy made a very bad decision when he decided to tackle Jack Grealish just outside the penalty box. It was a clear offense and a wonderfull gift to Man City, as their midfield dynamo Kevin De Bruyne got the very best position for a free kick to be taken.
Danny Ward must be blamed as well with an error setting up his wall in a bad position, and not being able to cover the gap which De Bruyne found, with his perfect placed shot. The best goalkeepers with a certain range would have saved this free kick but Danny Ward made it look like a fantasy shot.
Youri Tielemans had a wonderful attempt from a super volley, but Ederson makes a class save to stop the ball from going in. This is really the difference between the two teams, taking their chances, scoring in special moments, and at last having a goalkeeper able to save shots and headers you would not believe was saveable.
Leicester came back and fought well, made changes, bringing on Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka, and a few raids and minor chances were created. The team also came higher in the field, but again we feel that Brendan Rodgers let us down with a style of play that would have been obvious if Erling Haaland had been in the team, but he was not. No reason to stay as low as Leicester did, with the super goalscorer absent.
This was the perfect game to continue the progress, but instead tactical moves and a number of player performances were below expectations. Brendan Rodgers tactical changes never worked and it all ended with zero.
Leicester will see two very difficult away fixtures next, vs. Everton and West Ham. They also have a Carabao cup game at home vs. Newport to play. Hopefully Leicester will be back on wining ways, as every point will be of great importance.
- Positives
- Some solid defending at times
- Managing to play Man City low, trying to come back after being 1-0 down
- Danny Ward playing steady, but again he is not at a level needed to be a game changer
- Cags back in the team, solid performance
- Youri Tielemans are getting better and better, this is a good sign
- Negatives
- Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall not really giving the team the quality needed at this level
- James Justin and Harvey Barnes both being a bit flat against top opposition
- James Maddison not really given any support from Brendan Rodgers as he decided to drop his team deep
- Jamie Vardy not being used correctly as a sniffer dog on a long through pass, but never used, as the team mostly play one two inside their own half, it’s sickening to watch, as the key qualities in the team is not being used
Player Ratings: Ward 6, Justin 5, Castagne 5, Amartey 6, Faes 7, Soyuncu 7, Tielemans 7, Maddison 5, Vardy 5, Barnes 6, Dewsbury-Hall 5, Subs: Mendy, Daka, Iheanacho
- Leicester City, Man of the Match
- Youri Tielemans
Match Stats (H/A)
- Possession: 35 / 65
- Corners: 3 / 10
- Shots on target: 5 / 5
- Fouls: 5 / 10
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