Leicester City have made a habit of upsetting the Premier League‘s established order, from winning the title in 2016 to mounting back-to-back top four challenges and beating Chelsea to the FA Cup in May.
The problem with perennial overachievement is that it becomes expected; the novelty factor wears off. Brendan Rodgers has discovered that in the opening weeks of this season with Leicester so far struggling to maintain their sky-high standards.
Prior to their match with Crystal Palace, the Foxes had won just two of their first six league games, losing three. While far from disastrous, that run of results and the stodgy performances that accompanied them led to questions being asked of the manager’s tactical decision-making.
Rodgers’ apparent reluctance to lean upon the Jamie Vardy-Kelechi Iheanacho partnership that served him so well during the second half of last season or else utilise summer signing Patson Daka in attack has left Leicester supporters perplexed.
It has all been particularly baffling given that James Maddison, the player whom Rodgers rejigged his system around, has been in patchy form for some time. You have to go back to February and a 2-1 win over Aston Villa to find Maddison’s last competitive goal, while he has created just 0.7 chances per game this term, a figure that is bettered by 150 players in the division.
With Maddison’s influence dwindling, Rodgers opted to change tack and for the first time in the league this season, start with two up top at Selhurst Park. In came Iheanacho for his first start of the campaign, alongside Vardy, with Harvey Barnes and Ademola Lookman out wide in a flat 4-4-2 system.
To say that Leicester were more fluid after Rodgers’ tactical tinkering would be stretching things a bit. Palace were dominant for the opening half an hour and the better side throughout the game. But Rodgers’ decision was certainly vindicated, at least in an attacking sense, given both Iheanacho and Vardy scored.
The first goal was generously gift-wrapped for the returning Iheanacho by Joachim Andersen, who dawdled on possession allowing the Nigerian to nick the ball away from him before cooly sliding a finish into the bottom corner. Vardy made it two with an equally clinical strike from a Barnes through-ball.
A two-goal cushion flattered Leicester but it was insufficient to keep Palace at bay as first Michael Olise and then former Fox Jeffrey Schlupp came off the bench to score past Kasper Schmeichel.
Sandwiched between Palace’s goals was Maddison’s introduction, in place of Iheanacho in a move designed to give Leicester greater solidity by adding another player into the midfield. It didn’t quite work out like that though, as Palace continued to pin their opponents back.
Considering Palace were in the ascendancy when he was introduced, it would be unfair to criticise Maddison’s impact too harshly. Nevertheless, he was on the periphery on the proceedings, having only 10 touches of the ball in his 21 minutes on the pitch and winning just one of his five duels. It was a low-key cameo appearance that is unlikely to do much for Maddison’s chances of starting the next game.
The Jack Grealish vs James Maddison think-pieces of a couple of years ago suddenly seem a world away. While one was signed by Manchester City in a £100m transfer and starts regularly for England, the other is struggling for form and finds himself a long way down Gareth Southgate’s pecking order.
Maddison clearly has plenty of talent, but like his team in general, isn’t performing to his optimum level. Rodgers will be hoping that changes sooner, rather than later.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3D7TXAy
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