Matchday Live Talking Points: Clinical Man City & Praet’s Midfield role
- Gerry Taggart and Nev Foulger reflect on Leicester City’s 1-0 Premier League loss to Manchester City
- The duo were speaking on LCFC Radio’s Matchday Live show
- City were edged by the reigning champions after an effort from Gabriel Jesus
A late strike from substitute Gabriel Jesus sealed all three Premier League points for the visiting side, but City had chances of their own, most notably through Jamie Vardy, who struck the post after just eight minutes at King Power Stadium.
On the agenda on Matchday Live’s post-game broadcast was an analysis of the encounter and a discussion about the individual performances of Kasper Schmeichel, James Maddison, Christian Fuchs and Dennis Praet.
Schmeichel’s great save
Nev Foulger said: “Their energy is unbelievable at times with the amount of running they do. I thought they were fortunate to get a penalty through VAR, but Kasper Schmeichel made a great save from Sergio Agüero. It wasn’t the best of penalties, thank heavens, but their goal came through Riyad Mahrez. It was the first time really that Leicester allowed too much space in midfield, and Mahrez got through and laid it on for Gabriel Jesus, who finished it off.”
Clinical Man City
Gerry Taggart said: “When you look at the possession of the ball, you have to say Manchester City were more composed. They were always probing, but you would expect that from a team of that calibre. When you analyse the game and ask where it was won and lost, then you have to say it was in front of goal. Man City were clinical.”
The visitors edged it
Nev Foulger said: “The big question is that if Jamie Vardy’s shot in the eighth minute found the bottom corner, instead the bottom of the post, would that have made a difference? I think it might well have done. Until the goal came, a 0-0 probably was just about right, and it would have been one of the most entertaining 0-0 draws you’ll ever see. At the end of the day, Manchester City just about edged it.”
Excellent Maddison
Gerry Taggart said: “I thought James Maddison was excellent in those little gaps with his passing and trying to set the play up. However, I think those are the danger areas where you need that final bit of quality to make the big difference, that’s where it didn’t happen for Leicester City today.”
Praet’s midfield role
Nev Foulger said: “I thought he had an excellent first half, Dennis Praet, and he got involved just as much as anybody in the second half. For once, we didn’t really see that much of Kevin De Bruyne tonight in the sense of making Manchester City tick, and that was down to Dennis Praet and the midfielders.”
Fuchs shines
Gerry Taggart said: “I thought Leicester defended brilliantly and that’s why I gave Christian Fuchs Man of the Match. He set the trend with how many times he came out from centre-back and put pressure on the ball. It was the first time no one got close to Riyad Mahrez. He broke the lines and Gabriel Jesus made that run to seal Leicester’s fate.”