- Leicester City (0) 2
- G: De Cordova-Reid, James, A: Daka, Fatawu
- Norwich City (0) 1
- G: Kvistgaarden
Summary:
It’s been a variety of different levels since Marti Cifuentes took over. This game away to Norwich was a must win for the manager. His movements so far has been unpredictable. His decision making as manager of this football club does not inspire confidence. You would not expect it to be the formula to follow to build a promotion package.
In this game Leicester struggled from start. Norwich spoiled their opportunities. Leicester managed to get into it with some sort of momentum after a while. The first half ended 0-0.
Goals from Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Jordan James made this possible. Two great goals, scored by two midfielders. Leicester had good ball possession, 66/34. This indicates that Leicester are far from having the correct momentum. They are still not playing the game needed to transform this possession into scoring opportunities. Norwich made it difficult for Leicester. They used their physical strength to try to bend it in their own direction.
Here, Filbertway provides an in-depth analysis of the game.
Line-Up:
(4-3-3): Begovic; Okoli, Vestergaard, Nelson, Pereira; Skipp, Winks, James; Fatawu, Ayew, Daka
To see Ricardo Pereira being picked to play to the left in the back four, was a major surprise. He was far from convincing in his role. The gamble was not worth trying. Luke Thomas was again on the subs bench from start. Not good to just push him in and out of the team. He played a good game vs. Middlesbrough and made two crucial passes that should have leaded to goals.
The system of Marti Cifuentes is not suited for Jordan Ayew. He does not have enough pace to be part of it. Monga or Mavididi is better choices because they have more pace. They are also better adjusted to bring this system to success.
To see Patson Daka back in the team was good. He is a player that push forward and stretch defences. His goal ratio might not be the best. However, at this point, that job is also to open up space for other players to score. No other player at this football club can do that job better.
Vital Moments:
Goal; 62 minutes, Kvistgaarden scores the opening goal of the game
Substitution; 73 minutes, De Cordova-Reid in for Ayew
Goal; 75 minutes, De Cordova-Reid scores for Leicester
Goal; 90-2 minutes, James scores for Leicester
Highlights
24 minutes. Attempt saved. Jordan Ayew (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Vladan Kovacevic (Norwich City).
26 minutes. Attempt saved. Jovon Makama (Norwich City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Asmir Begovic (Leicester City).
34 minutes. Attempt blocked. Josh Sargent (Norwich City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Mathias Kvistgaarden.
38 minutes. Substitution, Ben Nelson, Player Off, Luke Thomas, Player On
45 minutes. Attempt saved. Abdul Fatawu (Leicester City) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Vladan Kovacevic (Norwich City). Assisted by Jordan James.
Half Time: Norwich 0, Leicester 0
56 minutes. Attempt blocked. Josh Sargent (Norwich City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Pelle Mattsson.
62 minutes. Goal! Norwich City 1, Leicester City 0. Mathias Kvistgaarden (Norwich City) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner.
64 minutes. Attempt saved. Oscar Schwartau (Norwich City) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Asmir Begovic (Leicester City).
68 minutes. Attempt blocked. Patson Daka (Leicester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
73 minutes. Jordan Ayew, Player Off. Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Player On
75 minutes. Goal! Norwich City 1, Leicester City 1. Bobby De Cordova-Reid (Leicester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Patson Daka with a headed pass.
83 minutes. Attempt missed. Abdul Fatawu (Leicester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Bobby De Cordova-Reid with a through ball.
90+2 minutes. Goal! Norwich City 1, Leicester City 2. Jordan James (Leicester City) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Abdul Fatawu with a cross.
Man of the Match: Jordan James
Jordan James was brilliant. The magic didn’t start until he was moved to that 8 role. He is a box to box player, not an offensive one, in the end of the double pivot. He must play deeper. Hopefully this was the last time Marti Cifuentes play him out of his perfect position.
The Vital Moment
90+2 minutes, Bobby De Cordova-Reid play a lovely through ball to Abdul Fatawu as he use his right foot to push a great pass into the penalty area. Jordan James getting his head on it, what a brilliant goal.
Magic 🪄 pic.twitter.com/k9dwAuWY0l
— Leicester City (@LCFC) November 9, 2025
Gold Dust
Number of chances created, XG, Possession, Effectiveness, Lack of Quality in the final face
Leicester created two big chances, The XG was 1,59. 66% Possession. This highlights a story of not using that possession to your ultimate advantage. This was the situation until Bobby De Cordova-Reid had entered the field and Jordan James was placed in his natural and best role.
Norwich mirrored Leicester in their line-up. Surprised to see them having the advantage early on. That is in real a shocker. The Norwich team was not the best. The had a lot of injuries. Norwich is a team in the relegation zone. To not be able to dominate from start is not good enough. Leicester did not really have any top chances at all before those vital goals were scored. Norwich left back and captain, Kenny McClean, was on his toes. He kept Abdul Fatawu quiet almost until the end. However, he lost the Leicester winger as he was able to serve that pass to Jordan James for his winning header.
Goalkeeper Analysed.
Asmir Begovic had a good game. He is good enough to be the cover. He is still agile and on his toes at the age of 38. His shot stopping is good. He looks calm and secure.
The Leicester midfield movement and placement
To see this part of the team being so weak is the achilles of this team. The fact that the club only have one proper box to box midfielder, makes it difficult to understand why he is given another position. This problem can occure often if you play with a double pivot. With Aaron Ramsey out injured, he might have done this decisions since Bobby De Cordova-Reid looks far from a 90 minutes player at the moment.
Analysing the style, how are Leicester attacking, defending and pressing?
With Jannik Vestergaard in the team, you cannot play with high press. What we see are players pressing with lower pace and not really breaking down enough. Harry Winks is not an ideal defensive midfielder. His tackling is his weakness. This makes it a major conflict.
Goals for and against
Both Leicester goals were scored in open play. Both goals were created with momentum and enough players inside the box. Norwich scored from a distance, but the defending on Kvistgaarden show how much trouble Leicester are in. Not able to block that shot is in real not what you expect from players having pace, tackling ability and the quality to stop the opponent to move into this area at all.
Honest Words
One; Jordan James, he is a monster box to box so please give him 90 minutes every game in this position.
Two; Jovon Makama should have settled everything for Norwich, but all of his attempts never became finished articles. Sad for Norwich, great for Leicester.
Three; Marti Cifuentes, not really giving any evidence he is a manager to keep. His decision making, shakes and twists, is a riddle. Hardly anything to build on. It looks a jelly sort of team, not in any shape or form.
Sherlock
Marti Cifuentes had to make crucial changes to turn a negative result again. His starting line-up’s are far out and in real experiments from game to game. He looks to have a problematic situation to solve.
Match Stats
Possession: H/A 34%-66%
Shots: H/A 8-14
Shots on target: H/A 3-7
Corners: H/A 6-3
Fouls: H/A 17-10
Line-up / System / Player Ratings
Leicester City (4-3-3): Begovic 6, Okoli 5, Pereira 4, Vestergaard 5, Nelson 5, Winks 6, Skipp 5, Daka 7, Fatawu 7, Ayew 5, James 8 Subs: De Cordova-Reid, Mavididi, Faes, Thomas
Norwich City (4-3-3): Kovacevic; Fisher, Medic, Darling, McLean; Topic, Mattsson, Kvistgaarden; Schwartau, Sargent, Makama Subs: Amankwah, McConville, Jurasek
The Opponent
Opposition Opinion:
Leicester City boss Mari Cifuentes hailed the ‘mentality’ that earned his Foxes a 2-1 Championship win at Norwich City, in a game some cruelly billed the ‘El Sackico’ derby. Liam Manning was dismissed within a couple of hours of the final whistle after an eighth Carrow Road home defeat on the spin in all competitions.
But Cifuentes has also faced growing calls to go, with last season’s relegated Premier League club winning only one of their previous 10. Leicester also blew a home victory in midweek against Middlesbrough after conceding a stoppage time equaliser, but on this occasion it was Jordan James who clinched the points with a towering 92nd minute header.s, read the full article
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