City 0 -1 Manchester City
Match Report by Stuart Dawkins
And so this disappointing and frustrating season continues …
I have seen quite a few bottom-of-the-table Leicester City teams in the past few decades, and this current team does not play like one. Week after week, the team keep their heads held high, they keep pushing forwards when they can and – with just a couple of exceptions – they have not been completely outclassed in any match.
A look at the league table would suggest a very poor team indeed, but Leicester are not that; so what is the problem? I admit, I am not entirely sure – other than the simple fact that they keep conceding more goals than their opponents.
Pearson rang the changes for this game. Hamer replacing the injured Schmeichel was forced, but electing to play a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Vardy the lone striker and both King and Drinkwater in central midfield was a radical change from recent games. It will be interesting to see whether it is intended as a permanent switch or simply as strategy to restrict the current league champions. Morgan returned from suspension for Moore and Simpson did well enough at Villa to retain the right-back slot.
Manchester City are physically large and very skilful; just the kind of team to turn over poor opposition, but that simply did not happen today in what proved to be a close match of few clear-cut chances.
Leicester were the brighter side for the first half-hour. Vardy's pace made the Manchester defence look slow. He easily out sprinted Kompany as early as the 2nd minute but could only put over a poor cross. In the 12th minute he was put clear again, with a Manchester defender just getting back in time to deflect the shot wide. Mahrez was the most eye-catching player on either side, showing skills and good footwork a number of times, although mostly too deep to be a threat to the Manchester defence.
In the 23rd minute, Cambiasso shaped as if to cross a free kick 30 yards out, but instead sent a low shot just a yard wide with Hart scrambling, unlikely to have stopped it had it been on target.
Hamer had to make his first save in the 30th minute, which he did comfortably. It was noticeable how frequently City passed back for him to kick clear. Having said that, his long kicking seemed, if anything, even more accurate than Schmeichel's. A couple of minutes later, Hamer had a far sharper save to make, low to his left to smother a 16-yard shot.
Despite a fairly balanced first half there was an unfortunate sense of inevitability after 40 minutes, when Manchester broke down the left, Nasri found space to cross the ball along the 6-yard line for Lampard to tap in, so Leicester went in 1-0 down at half time.Leicester were also the better side for much of the second half, yet in the entire game Hart did not have to save one goal-bound shot (bar a slow, looping header from Mahrez). Leicester found wide men in good positions quite often, but either the quality of the cross or the quality of the defending meant that they never really looked as though they would score.
Both managers made changes. Pearson's first change was Ulloa on for Schlupp, who had out-paced the sluggish Manchester defence a few times, but without any real end-product. Leicester moved to a more conventional 4-4-2 for the remainder of the match. Powell then came on for Vardy, who had had a typical Vardy match: hard-working, frightening defenders with his pace, but also often making the wrong choice when close to goal. Finally, Knockaert replaced Drinkwater, who had looked solid in the new formation.
Manchester City brought on Milner for Lampard and Navas for Pozo – who had been a late replacement for Dzecko – as they looked to close the game out. Kompany was then injured and replaced by Demichelis.
Leicester played well in the final 10 minutes: Ulloa had a couple of chances, they created a crossing opportunity from the right equally as promising as the move from which Manchester scored, but despite the pressure Hart still did not have to make a save. Manchester played on the break, causing a couple of scares and another decent save from Hamer – who looked very assured in goal. Ulloa skied one further short-range shot on the turn … and then that was that: another loss for Leicester.
Manchester City are one of the best club teams in the world at the moment, but they could easily not have won this game, and yet Leicester are now even further behind at the bottom of the table.
There are some easy things to point out: Leicester, this season, have appeared incapable of taking even a competent, never mind threatening, corner kick. Even Cambiasso disappointed from corners today, and no fewer than four different City players took them to no avail. Leicester did not have a meaningful on-target shot for the opposition to save, yet Manchester only had very few.
All very frustrating…
The pre-match talking point had been the FA charge for Nigel Pearson for his altercation with a fan at the Liverpool game – compounded by the usual desire of much of the media to spot the next manager to be sacked. The home crowd made their views clear, with repeated choruses of 'There's only one Nigel Pearson", including one that started the moment the final whistle was sounded.
Leicester City: Hamer, Simpson, Wasilewski, Morgan, Konchesky, Mahrez, King, Cambiasso, Drinkwater, Schlupp, Vardy. Substitutes: Hammond, James, Powell, Moore, Ulloa, Knockaert, Smith
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Kompany, Demichelis, Mangala, Clichy, Y Touré, Fernando, Nasri, Lampard, Silva. Substitutes: Zabaleta, Milner, Kolarov, Caballero, Jesús Navas, Fernandinho, Demichelis
Attendance 31,643
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation