Leicester 2, Sheffield United 3, positives and negatives, player ratings and match report, Championship fixture

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The game had just started and Leicester were a sleep from start. Tom Cannon was back at King Power and he made his mark after just two minutes, scoring from close range. This was so sad to watch again. Instead of doing a lot fancy stuff early, just make it very simple and avoid mistakes.

Then just two minutes later in the fourth, Sheffield United striked again. The Blades were 2-0 up after four minutes. Leicester should probably had a free kick with a push inside the penalty area, but nothing from the referee.

What we see looks far from well prepared and potentially underestimating the opponent. Chris Wilder lining his team up in 4-4-2 against a Leicester team in 4-3-3. The Blades were much more on the front foot ready to attack in a different pattern.

Leicester struggled to produce any offensive momentum. Gaps in between the lines were easy for The Blades to fill as they just powered on. A third goals scored in the 32nd minute. Leicester had nothing and we all had little or no faith in this to become anything that a terrible loss.

Marti Cifuentes made three changes at half time. He brought on Bouba Soumare, Oliver Skipp and Jordan Ayew for Harry Winks, Wout Faes and Patson Daka. With the introduction of Oliver Skipp in a backline role you got more quality passes from the back. Over the last few games, Skipp has demonstrated his capability. He can fill roles that are difficult at the moment due to injuries and such.

The half time match talk must have worked. Leicester came out in a different shape. They played with much more power. A great goal scored in the 53rd minute. Abdul Fatawu’s cross found Stephy Mavididi who headed in the pass from close range. Hope raised as Leicester looked eager to try to solve the mess from the first half.

We lose at home.#LEISHU | @BCGame pic.twitter.com/xfHul3u1H5
— Leicester City (@LCFC) November 29, 2025

In the 33rd minute, Olabade Aluko is back in a new fight. With a clear head, he should have stepped away from this one as well. He receives his second yellow, and then a red. The question is, should Marti have picked him off earlier, just to avoid to play with 10 men. Aluko had a difficult day. Was he truly ready to get his first team chance over someone like Bobby De-Cordova Reid? The absence of Ricardo Pereira is not really documented at this point.

Leicester put more and more pressure on Sheffield United, and they came close on a number of occasions. We had to wait until the 83rd minute for the next goal. A long range screamer from Jordan James hit the net with blistering pace. A fantastic goal, but too late.

Marti Cifuentes tried desperately to fix his errors from the first half. It was not the day to recover. Another tragic game, but still some very positives to take from the second half. The game ended in a 3-2 win to Sheffield United. The problem are that certain individuals do fail and have miserable performances at times. This ruins any hope of wining games, despite having the ability to make changes and get a positive reaction.

Positives
- Two goals scored in the second half, coming back from a disastrous start
- Marti Cifuentes making changes that worked well
- Jordan James can score goals from headers, shots from outside the box, inside the box, he is really showing strength
- Marti Cifuentes able to make changes that works and makes a positive change
- The use of Oliver Skipp, looks he can play all well in defence as well
- Ball possession, 70% shows Leicester are dominant
- Close to the play off and to a direct promotion place
Negatives
- Major blunders and errors in the back four, clearences straight in the feet of the opponent
- First half losing most of the one to one battles, letting in goals that looks too easy
- Looks like Marti Cifuentes have no counter plan, when facing 4-4-2 opposition
- Players looks far from in the correct frame from start, not acceptable to be 2-0 down after four minutes
- Random form, random set up, random line-up, it looks far from a planned situation
- Referee decision against, with VAR in this game, Leicester would have had all three points

Line Up:
Begovic 4, Pereira 5, Thomas 5, Vestergaard 5, Faes 4, Winks 3, James 7, Reid 5, Daka 3, Mavididi 6, Fatawu 5, Subs: Ayew 5, Skipp 7, Soumare 7