Leicester City 3 Crystal Palace 0
Report by Tish Krokosz
This was the first City match I was able to watch live in its entirety since the return of football due to the lockdown. Apparently, I had not missed much as the recent games were not described in very complimentary terms and the results were certainly disappointing. The chase for Champions League places was looking more and more difficult. We needed to get three points from this match and we needed Vardy to start scoring again.
Looking at the City players during the warm up, it was clear that several had probably foregone their breakfast and visited the barber instead as they were looking more decently groomed than during the lockdown period. The only player who had obviously put steak and eggs as being more important than a haircut was Söyüncü, who was resembling Samson before Delilah had attacked him.
Maddison was once more unavailable due to his hip injury and was not even risked on the bench. The creative work in midfield would have to come from Tielemans and it was necessary for him to regain the authority that he showed during the second half of last season.
Although Palace started with a spring in their step, City were able to soak up the initial pressure and, having gained their composure, showed they could dominate play without too much concern for long periods of time. I could only count two significant Palace attacks during the first half and the most dangerous moment was when, following a clumsy challenge by Iheanacho on the half hour, Milivojevic sent the subsequent free kick just wide of the left hand post.
Meanwhile, City could have had a handful of goals during the first 45 minutes. After seven minutes, Albrighton sent over a wonderful cross into the box from the right wing and Iheanacho had a free header but was not even on target. Five minutes later, City were knocking the ball around the edge of the penalty area without any penetration until it came to Justin on the right-hand corner of the penalty area. He lashed the ball towards goal and, unfortunately, it swerved slightly onto the crossbar and bounced to safety.
Vardy has been desperate to get his hundredth goal. He had opportunities in the first half to accomplish this feat, but on each occasion he either lost concentration or was blocked or made the wrong choice of shot. It seemed as if the target would be too elusive. Although the home side dominated possession throughout the half, there were too many mistakes with the final pass or move into the box. With so many changes being made to the formation and combination of players due to the high number of matches in such a short period of time, it seemed as if the flow of their game was not coming naturally.
There is one advantage of watching a match on television due to its being played behind closed doors – the queue for the loos at half-time is a lot shorter. Normally, we would use this time to discuss with the fans around us what changes should be made, where did we go wrong and what needed to be done in the second half. It was interesting that Rodgers was one step ahead as the second half started with Bennett coming on for Chilwell, who had to have some attention in the first half and who had also been booked. At the same time, Bennett’s introduction called for a change in formation with a back three being used. Albrighton and Justin were asked to play the role of wing backs and these amendments soon paid off.
Three minutes after the restart, Evans knocked the ball out to Albrighton on the left. He slid a first time pass to Perez who quickly knocked it forward to Tielemans. He took the ball at speed down the left wing and made the perfect cross into the danger area of the box. Iheanacho was quicker than any of the visiting defenders and poked it past the oncoming Guaita. An early goal was what we were hoping for as it would mean that the opposition would have to be a little less defensive and more adventurous if it wanted any result from this match.
Indeed, they could have equalised in the 59th minute when Cahill had a free header with only Schmeichel to beat, but the Dane was on good form and dropped down to catch the ball with ease. There followed a plethora of substitutions and the shape of City’s formation changed once again. I doubted the sense of bringing Iheanacho off with Praet in his place as this meant that Vardy would be left on his own up front. This would bring only more frustration for him. Soon after Barnes and Fuchs had come on for Perez and Albrighton even the captain, Schmeichel, was feeling sorry for Vardy and launched an enormous kick for the forward to chase. This old-fashioned route one approach smelt of desperation especially with Vardy mistiming his shot on goal.
We should not have worried. Crystal Palace decided to push the self-destruct button. The ensuing goal kick from Guaita was aimed at Sakho and he did not look comfortable with this move, especially as Barnes was moving in on him. In trying to turn the City player, Sakho slipped and, unable to recover, lost the ball to Barnes. He took one look to see that Vardy was prowling unmarked in the middle of the box and pushed the ball to him. His 100th goal was probably one of the easiest goals that he has scored. He showed his obvious relief and delight as did the whole team.
Bearing in mind what happened at Watford in the closing minutes, I was still not comfortable with a two goal lead and Palace should have reduced the deficit with two minutes to go when Townsend brushed past Fuchs and sent a cross over towards Zaha, who, on the whole, had an ineffective match. His shot went into row Z so did not even bother Schmeichel.
These days, the number of minutes added on at the end of the second half are substantially higher than before. This gave Vardy the chance to show that he has lost his reticence in front of goal and can perform as before. With three minutes gone after the ninety, Barnes was once more the provider when, having picked up a clearance from Fuchs, put the ball in front of the City talisman. This time, Vardy used his speed to run past the defence with the ball and slip it over the advancing Guaita. Once you’ve got your hundred, it seems easy to move on.
The result was only what City deserved against a Palace team that looked as if it was affected by the continuing Leicester lockdown with players looking either tired or feeling that they had to adhere to the social-distancing requirements. For City, this was a good preparation for the away game at Arsenal. I do not anticipate such an easy game against them but would savour a similar result.
Leicester: Schmeichel, Justin, Evans, Söyüncü, Chilwell (Bennett HT), Ndidi, Tielemans (Choudhury 88), Albrighton (Fuchs 74), Perez (Barnes 74), Iheanacho (Praet 62), Vardy. Subs not used: Ward, Morgan, Gray, Mendy.
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Ward, Cahill, Sakho, van Aanholt (Mitchell 83), McArthur (McArthy 67), Milivojevic, Ayew, Riedewald (Kouyaté 60), Zaha, Benteke (Townsend 82). Subs not used: Hennessey, Dann, Meyer, Woods, Pierrick
Referee: J. Moss Attendance: Around 300
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