Tactical Selection Pays Off For Ranieri

- Claudio Ranieri reveals tactical consideration behind team selection at Norwich
- Danny Simpson and Christian Fuchs start at Carrow Road, with Riyad Mahrez on the bench
- Foxes beat Canaries 2-1, with Jeffrey Schlupp scoring the winner
- Ranieri hails his side’s reaction to their first defeat of the season a week previously
Claudio Ranieri saw a brave selection decision justified at Norwich City, as the Italian continued his fine start to life as Leicester City manager.
Ranieri sprung a surprise at Carrow Road when introducing two new full-backs and leaving out talisman Riyad Mahrez from the starting XI.
Danny Simpson came in at right-back, while Christian Fuchs’ introduction at left-back allowed Jeffrey Schlupp to push forward into midfield.
The result was a performance of great strength and determination from the Foxes, while Schlupp exploited his more advanced role with what proved to be the winning goal early in the second half.
The decision was a hot topic of conversation in Ranieri’s post-match press conference, and the City boss revealed it was our opponents’ threat out wide that prompted the change.
“We knew very well how Norwich would play,” Claudio said. “They push a lot on the flanks and make a lot of deliveries into the box.
“We wanted to start with a solid team and then, during the match, I could put Riyad on the field. But the match was different because we were winning.
“When you play against Norwich, they play good football and can score goals, so it was important for us to be calm, to play well and to be in a good position late in the game.”
Ranieri was pleased to see his side bounce back from their first defeat of the season against Arsenal last week and the Foxes now head into the international break with a healthy 15 points from their first eight games.
“It was a very good answer after the defeat against Arsenal,” he said.
“It was a very good match against a good team that were well organised and play good football, but today we were very determined to win the match.
“We created a lot of great chances to score, we scored twice and we had one disallowed. Then they scored and there was a big battle in English spirit and I love this kind of spirit.
“Every match in England is never finished. You have to fight to the 96th minute.
“We were very solid at the back. We didn’t get the clean sheet, but it’s ok – when we win, I am very happy.”