Leicester City 1-0 Leeds United (Barnes 67′)
Harvey Barnes’ fourth goal in as many matches against Leeds United ensured the Jesse Marsch era began in defeat.
In a match in which both teams had their chances, it was Leicester City who were ultimately more clinical, with Barnes firing the ball past Illan Meslier midway through the second half following a nicely worked move with substitute Kelechi Iheanacho.
The Foxes also had goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to thank for a string of smart saves in what was his 139th consecutive appearance for the club.
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Marsch admitted before the game that “today won’t be perfect” and that certainly was the case across a mixed 90 minutes in which Leeds looked dangerous going forward but were again shaky at the back.
After replacing the hugely popular Marcelo Bielsa last week, the American began his tenure by making two changes to personnel, bringing Mateusz Klich and Rodrigo into the starting XI in place of Adam Forshaw and the injured Diego Llorente.
There was also a tweak in formation, with Jack Harrison and Raphinha lining up as two No 10s behind a front two of Rodrigo and Dan James in a 4-2-2-2 system, albeit with the front four relatively fluid in their positions.
The game began at a furious pace. With both teams preferring to attack their opponents in transition rather than through patient build-up play, it always seemed likely that most chances would come from counter-attacks.
Leeds made the first opening, with Dan James’ pace carving open the Leicester defence and creating a chance for Jack Harrison, whose low shot was saved smartly by Schmeichel.
But it didn’t take long for Leicester to create their own chances too, with Barnes testing Meslier from distance and the returning Jamie Vardy causing problems early on.
The game would settle down in the middle period of the first half before coming to life again before the break, as Junior Firpo and Wilfried Ndidi spurned chances at either end when they both should have scored.
Absences have certainly not helped the Whites this season with club captain Liam Cooper and midfield shield Kalvin Phillips out for long periods and their presence may well have prevented Leicester’s goal.
Stuart Dallas gifted Barnes space on the edge of the box and the winger passed the ball into Iheanacho, who dragged part-time centre-back Luke Ayling out of position and played the ball back into his team-mate’s stride.
There was no mistake from Barnes, so long a thorn in Leeds’ side, as he fired the ball low past Meslier’s outstretched hand and into the bottom corner.
Leeds came close to scoring with Raphinha and the lively substitute Joe Gelhardt denied by another Schmeichel save and a deflection respectively.
But the game ended in defeat and leaves the Whites just two points clear of relegation, with their rivals still to play this weekend.
Player ratings
Leicester City
- Schmeichel 8
- Choudhury 7
- Amartey 6
- Soyuncu 5
- Thomas 6
- Tielemans 6
- Ndidi 7
- Dewsbury-Hall 7
- Albrighton 5
- Vardy 7
- Barnes 8
Subs:
- Lookman 5
- Iheanacho 6
- Mendy 5
Leeds United
- Meslier 6
- Dallas 7
- Ayling 6
- Struijk 4
- Firpo 7
- Koch 6
- Raphinha 7
- Klich 6
- Harrison 7
- Rodrigo 5
- James 7
Subs:
- Forshaw 5
- Gelhardt 6
What was different about Leeds?
One of the key differences between Marsch’s and Bielsa’s styles is that the American prefers his players to hunt the ball in packs rather than the man-to-man system used by his predecessor.
And that was in evidence on Saturday. Leeds looked more assured when their defending was done high up the pitch, often winning back possession quickly and creating attacking chances.
But they were less assured when the ball found its way deep into their own half, Pascal Struijk in particular appearing to struggle whenever the ball was in his vicinity.
Leeds came into this game having conceded 20 goals in their past five matches, setting a Premier League record for the most goals against in a calendar month.
In that sense, conceding just one goal will be pleasing for Marsch, particularly with Phillips and Cooper still to return.
But perhaps of more concern will be their failure to score. Leeds had 19 shots at goal but only four on target and, while Schmeichel bagged the man of the match award for several excellent saves, that wastage in front of goal needs fixing quickly if they are to avoid relegation.
There were positives to come from this game but also plenty of hard work ahead for Marsch.
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