Barnsley 1, Leicester 1, Positives and Negatives, Player Ratings and Match Report, League One Fixture

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Russell Martin changed the team, playing Olabade Aluko and Wout Faes instead of Jayden Joseph and John Souttar. Souttar was on the bench, and Joseph was left out of the squad.

Leicester began the game well, scoring the first goal after just 7 minutes. Liam Cullen finished a great build-up after some excellent passing and play from the back.

Leicester looked confident and fit, feeling good after the first goal. When Barnsley went down to 10 men, it boosted hopes for a win and more goals.

But in a surprising way, Barnsley became more dangerous as Leicester tried to use their advantage of having one extra player.

Sammy Braybrooke had a chance to score with a header later in the half, but it was difficult to gain momentum due to poor team shape, resulting in missed half chances.

Emil Riis and Luke Thomas also had chances to score, but missed.

A point at Oakwell 🔵#BARLEI | @BCGame pic.twitter.com/xRi75YziKk
— Leicester City (@LCFC) September 19, 2026

Coming out in the second half, we hoped for more goals with Leicester attacking, but it turned into a slow game with lots of passing back and forth. There were many poor passes and a lack of good touch to get things going.

In the 61st minute, Barnsley’s Reyes Curley took advantage of a poor pass from Leicester’s Warren O’Hora. Curley scored a powerful shot into the net behind Alex McCarthy as Leicester was caught on the counter.

Leicester pushed hard towards the end, creating several scoring opportunities, but struggled to convert them due to a lack of quality from the players on the field, many of whom were underperforming. Since very few of these players are accustomed to playing regularly, we can expect varying performances in the future, and as fans, we need to be patient as we observe these developments.

Losing a lead with one less player on the field is a terrible outcome for a game Leicester should have won easily. However, this season is still long, and hopefully with more playing time, these players will improve going forward.

Positives

Scoring a nice goal after a terrific build up
Building up enough chances during the game to win it comfortably
Liam Cullen having a new goal scored, building confidence
John Lundstram driving the team in the correct manner, but getting tired towards the end
Luke Thomas also having a good game, hopefully his offensive approach will lead to goals in the future
Leicester are just one point from the play off zone
At least getting a point on board playing away

Negatives

Strange to see how this Leicester team appear after taking an early lead
Giving away a lead having one more player on the field
Not being able to score from enough chances
Why players stop running or move backwards, when they have pace to pass their opponent
Tommy Watson what is he up to, his finish on goal was far from a professional act
Subs not really contributing much, having massive possibilities, but looks far from capable
Emil Riis not showing his best today, why is that suddenly happening
The highest and lowest in performance from certain players are scary to watch
Experienced players doing terrible mistakes
Strange to see so many corners passes to the back post when no one is there to pick it up
Players are overthinking and often lacks cretativity and movement to get in the correct shape

Line Up:
McCarthy 6, Aluko 5, Thomas 6, O’Hora 5, Faes 5, Page 6, Braybrooke 4, Lundstram 7, Riis 4, Alves 5, Cullen 5 Subs: Coulibaly 4, Burns, Howell, Reid, Watson