Leicester 1, Bournemouth 0, positives and negatives, player ratings and match report, Premier League fixture
10/05/2024 02:25 PM
This was the first of a number of games that are potential 3 pointers for Leicester, and to see Harry Winks dropped from the line-up made a bit of confusion, turning Wilfred Ndidi back into a defensive role, giving Facundo Bounanotte a special role and a return for Jordan Ayew to the starting line-up.
Steve Cooper has, as we can see, a very pragmatic approach to the games he is playing, as his selections looks major gambles and random, based on what he sees in the different opponents.
The game started badly as Bournemouth pushed for a goal early on, but as that resulted in nothing with some good defending from Leicester, the game opened up and Leicester came more and more into the swing of things. With a new line-up and a bit of change in formation, this can often be the outcome early on, before you get it settled.
As the first half went on Leicester looked a better and better outfit and in the 16th minute everything exploded, Facundo Bounanotte started the puzzle out right, combining a one two with James Justin before he just took everyhing in his own hands, made a solid dribble and hammered the ball into the roof of the net, Leicester were 1-0 up. Jamie Vardy could have doubled the score a few minutes later, coming alone with the goalkeepe, but his shot was in some way lost on the way. Also happening in the first half, we could see a solid hand ball from Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez, but strangely no whistling from the referee and no VAR in action.
Leicester looked solid first half and we looked forward to the second with optimism, but what we witnessed was probably the worsed half by a Leicester team for a very long time. Bournemouth had everything and even scored, but the goal was correctly ruled out as offside.
Bournemouth neutralized everything and they managed to take Facundo Bounanotte out of the game, as the Argentinian vanished from the game completely, ending in him being substituted. Looked a bit like Leicester deliberately also fell a bit down, giving Bournemouth more space in their half as well being able to build from the back as Leicester stumbled in their attempts to get out of their own penalty area.
Wout Faes has been solid all season for Leicester, and for the doubters, please stop complaining as one of the best defenders in the Premier League at the moment is this Belgian international, also getting the captains armband when Jamie Vardy left the field in the 74th minute.
Steve Cooper made three more substitutions in the end of the game, giving minutes to Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Bouba Soumare and Abdul Fatawu. This time it all ended well as Steve Cooper made the crucial changes that was needed to get the first win of the season completed.
Well done, great credit to every player, and also fans for their support, as the club made it happen and yet another Premier League win was well into the bag. This was a great way to end this Saturday with the international break coming up next. Leicester will take on Southampton away in their next fixture.
- Positives
- James Justin scoring two fantastic goals, the volley was a finish of briliance
- Mads Hermansen showing his best, 13 saves, in a game that could have been one to remember, with fantastic shot stopping
- Second half was very positive, but falling flat in the end, makes it all just another day to forget
- Negatives
- First half was far from expectations, showing the gap between the two teams
- Victor Kristiansen defending was not at Premier League level
- Steve Cooper making fatal mistakes in his substitutions in the end, Skipp should never have left the field
Player Ratings: Hermansen 7, Justin 6, Kristiansen 6, Okoli 7, Faes 9, Skipp 6, Ayew 7, Ndidi 6, Vardy 5, Mavididi 5, Bounanotte 7, Subs: De Cordova-Reid, Fatawu, Edouard, Soumare
- Leicester City, Man of the Match
- Wout Faes
Match Stats (H/A)
- Possession: 44 / 56
- Shots on Target: 2 / 2
- Corners: 0 / 9
- Fouls: 12 / 14
