MK Dons 0 City 0
Report by Kate Thompson
In his interview after the Luton game, Michael Appleton said the team would start scoring goals soon. Instead they failed to score at all for the first time this pre-season. The 11 who started contained one or two who might hope to feature in the first Premier League match alongside some fringe players, but it gave them an opportunity to show why they should be higher up the pecking order. There were only four substitutes, none of whom was needed.
On a filthy night in Milton Keynes we settled down in the above-average seats and, as my sister noted, very few City fans were standing up. Would that it were always so at away games!
Sadly, the football did not match the excellent view of the game. There were some slick passing moves on a tricky pitch but very little to get the pulses racing; the best one can say is that the players did a full 90 minutes which would have improved their fitness. MK Dons gave them a much sterner test than Luton had, and Hamer in goal had to make some good saves.
Some things hadn’t changed; Gray, in his first pre-season match, flattered to deceive again. He got forward well, on a couple of occasions racing to catch a ball that looked as if it were going out for a throw-in, but he continued his habit of shooting from range and way off target. Ben Chilwell is better going forward than defending, which demonstrates that Fuchs is unlikely to lose his place for now.
I was particularly pleased to see Matty James back to his imperious best and hope he can maintain these high standards. Iborra looked very assured and was involved in one or two clever moves in the second half. I wouldn’t be surprised if these two were the first-choice midfield pairing, along with either Drinkwater or Ndidi. Andy King, a player I have a lot of time, was captain on the night but we only saw the occasional glimpse of the player he can be.
The outstanding player for me was Tom Lawrence, someone who has had his ups and downs with the club and who looked to be on his way out a couple of seasons ago. There are rumours that Brighton have bid £8m for him but I really hope Leicester don’t let him go.
The biggest disappointment for me, Gray apart, was Ulloa – another player I like and who was apparently signed because the defenders at the time said he was the hardest player they had faced. Clearly being the lone striker doesn’t suit him and apart from one effort that cleared the bar very early one, he was largely anonymous.
Amartey, playing as a central defender as he does for Ghana, looked assured and Benalouane did not create any heart-stopping moments. The youngster Johnson at right back made one or two errors but he can be reasonably pleased with his performance.
So hopefully the management team have learnt some valuable lessons but I hope the match against Wolves, presumably with most of the starting 11, is more exciting.
Line up here https://twitter.com/LCFC/status/890991509356527616/photo/1
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