Leicester 0-2 Man City: Three players who shone or let the side down | OneFootball

19 games played, 14 points gained, in the bottom three of the Premier League once more. The King Power side had a massive opportunity playing at home against a struggling Manchester City to put them under pressure and get at least a point. Well, the Foxes at least accomplished the first part of that.

The late first half and the vast majority of the second half were utterly dominated by Leicester City with the ball, progressing, recycling, and tearing the other Citizens apart. However, despite a number of chances, no goal ever came. Instead, through small individual mistakes we conceded once, and then again while we were in charge. As my grandad says, not good enough to beat a tragically out of form 'Man City'.

Leicester City's let downs

It feels harsh to look at what was a positive performance overall and pick out those who let the Foxes down. However, whether we look at Stephy Mavididi's lack of impact in the first half or Jannik Vestergaard's positioning for the second goal, there are individual moments and performances which created problems.

Namely, I want to address the elephant in the room. Jamie Vardy. One shot on target, two shots off target, two massive chances skied, and only 17 touches of the ball. That was a depressingly off-form performance from our main man. The player was more than just ineffective. Offside multiple times, not really making many runs, barely getting involved in link-up play, there was nothing to make the striker's performance salvageable.

Searching through my notes, the early periods of the first half featured Vardy joining a high-pressure front four which was working well at pacifying the midfield threat posed by Man City. However, I have multiple mentions of being offside, and not being in a space where you would expect a striker to run into. I have fewer mentions of Vardy for the second half, with only the missed chances for the player. That seems to be the King Power story at the moment.

I was also unimpressed with James Justin. The player lost possession four times, never successfully won the ball, made no crosses into the box, and took two wild off-target shots. 70 minutes of mediocrity. The player was arguably well out of position for the first goal, following a midfield runner while leaving the explosive winger completely unpressured to take a go after a parry by young goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.

Again, in my notes, there are few mentions of Justin in a positive light. His replacement Hamza Choudhury however brought us something different. Firstly, the academy graduate made a similar decision which contributed to the second goal. More importantly, I saw some aggressive passes forward and into the box from Choudhury. The player also won ground duels and dribbled a bit. That is what we need more of.

The shining example

It would be unfair not to mention the good performances in the side. Our midfield of Harry Winks, Boubakary Soumare, and Bilal El Khannouss were possessive, progressive, and creative. They also did a great job in disrupting opposition play and winning the ball back. Facundo Buonanotte was a much-welcomed return to the side, again showing his creative impact and linking up well with the Moroccan and Vardy.

It was El Khannouss who impressed me most. Some of the attacking-midfielder's passing was sublime. No, most of it definitely was. The creativity and technical ability to pass between pressing opposition players and switch the play completely into open space - especially with Victor Kristiansen, Stephy Mavididi, and Hamza Chouhdury - was integral in how the Foxes were creating opportunities.

Add that to their partnership with Soumare and Buonanotte and Leicester City have a player who is explosive, devastating, and a great team player. The big thing for me is to understand that although the player did not score today or claim any assists, they must be at the core of whatever Leicester side start scoring and start winning. Our defence needs changes however.