Brendan Rodgers lined up the team he believed was the most competitive on the day, but still it was Newcastle, as expected, that were the better team. First half Leicester managed to keep it controlled and Danny Ward kept it safe as it was still 0-0.
Coming out 2nd half no changes were made and it all looked as if Leicester had a chance to shook Newcastle, but as we all had no worries Magpies showed their power and strength going in front with a special one from Dan Burn, a nice curled shot as he made his first for Newcastle.
Leicester had in real no chance as they looked the minor team in this game, but still we had some hope until this goal was conceded, and you could easily see how the crowd responded and was all behind their team and manager.
Brendan Rodgers got impatient and decided to make a move to try to change the power, bringing on Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho and also change to a 3-5-2 set up, or maybe it was a 3-4-3, as you do not really see Harvey Barnes as flank alternative in a 3-5-2, he is not moving correctly in that type of play, and you get a midfield without a proper momentum.
This made it a bit of a mess really, trying to build a formation with Perez, Tielemans and Ndidi in the central positions, Albrighton and Barnes on the flanks, with Barnes appearing as a winger, you get a difficult system to follow and the gaps were there to use for Newcastle.
As we have seen so many times before with Brendan Rodgers during games, often getting punished as the system and subsitutions needs a few minutes to be adjusted, and Newcastle used it to their advantage with Joelinton scoring the 2nd goal in the 72nd minute.
Despite being 2-0 down Leicester never gave up and a number great passes from Ayoze Perez found Jamie Vardy but his attempts was not of the good old standard and went wide, surely on his best days, this would have been certain goals.
This was again a reality check, and as we have seen, a few of the players getting games with others being out, have not stepped up and you start to worry about the ability of Leicester at present with especially James Maddison being absent.
Leicester also need to address their defensive problems, as they are weak in certain situations and lose momentum. Again losing away against Newcastle is no big surprise, but still they look much more confident in their performances.
We certainly believe that Jamie Vardy still is a player worth to use from start and his presence will of course be one holding up the other team out of respect for his previous acts. He is also a player that can still score goals as we have seen in the Carabao Cup and of course being reduced to a fringe man, he will not be as much involved, we need to use Jamie to his limits..
Leicester do have Premier League games to look forward to as the Carabao Cup dream ends in the quarter finals, still also a chance in FA Cup action, so don’t build every judgement on this away fixture at St. James Park.
- Positives
- Keeping up with Newcastle for as long as 64 minutes
- Danny Ward doing his best to keep Leicester in the game
- Ayoze Perez showing his skills and some fantastic passes up to Jamie Vardy
- Negatives
- Not able to give Newcastle a match as they were best in every area
- Vardy missing his clear chances
- Daka not at all in a place that makes him a quality striker for Leicester at his moment
- Difficult to understand changes done by Brendan Rodgers as momentum is lost
- Harvey Barnes, not at his best level, lost a bit of momentum
Player Ratings: Ward 7, Castagne 5, Amartey 4, Faes 5, Thomas 4, Tielemans 5, Perez 6, Albrighton 5, Daka 4, Barnes 3, Ndidi 6 Subs: Vardy, Iheanacho, Mendy
- Leicester City, Man of the Match
- Danny Ward
Match Stats (H/A)
- Possession: 52 / 48
- Corners: 12 / 4
- Shots on target: 9 / 1
- Fouls: 13 / 16
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