Extra-Time Talking Points: Leicester's Game Plan & The Foxes' Growing Stature
- LCFC Radio's Extra-Time show reflects on Leicester City's magnificent win at Manchester City
- Matt Elliott and Iwan Roberts starred on the one-hour show, broadcast every Monday after a weekend fixture
- Jamie Vardy netted a hat-trick at Etihad Stadium, while James Maddison and Youri Tielemans were also among the goals
- Elliott and Roberts were impressed by the nature of Leicester's performance against Pep Guardiola's men
Each Monday after a weekend fixture, Extra-Time will reflect on City's latest outing with several Foxes legends providing their expertise from a tactical perspective.
This week's show came just a day after one of the Club's best-ever results in the Premier League, as the Foxes emerged from Etihad Stadium with a stunning 5-2 victory...
The game plan
Iwan Roberts said: "They went there with a game plan, Brendan [Rodgers] changed formation, went with five at the back. They spent long periods of that game without the ball, which most teams do when you go to Etihad Stadium, and a lot of teams after conceding after three minutes, the game plan would have gone out the window. But, to their credit, the lads stuck to their task. They kept the discipline that you need and they gradually grew into that first half."
An unreal result
Matt Elliott said: "It has to be up there (among Leicester's best Premier League results). People will obviously remember the 9-0 at Southampton, but a 5-2 win at Etihad Stadium is maybe even rarer. Man City don't concede that many goals, [Pep] Guardiola doesn't concede that many goals, but it was an unreal result. The players and even Brendan Rodgers must be pinching themselves. It's shown what they're capable of."
Things to work on
Iwan Roberts said: "When you've gone away to one of the big boys and scored five goals, it's easy to dust things under the carpet. I wouldn't have been surprised if that (conceded two goals from set-plays) would have been one of the first things he mentioned straight after the game. That was the biggest danger Man City had in the game. This victory gives this group of lads a belief that they can go to one of the big boys and win."
Mendy & Tielemans in the middle
Matt Elliott said: "It wasn't just Leicester sat deep constantly throughout the game and then pumping it long on fast-break counter-attacks. That happened occasionally, but they were breaking up play in midfield. [Papy] Mendy and [Youri] Tielemans in particular were winning the ball and they weren't hurried and rushed. They showed great technique to get hold of the ball. They created space for themselves to pick a pass."
Scoring five at Etihad Stadium
Iwan Roberts said: "I spoke about it on the day, but when Fernandinho came off, it changed the game and gave Leicester a massive advantage, but to go there and score five goals, if you look at Man City's recent last season, they conceded one or less in 15 of their 19 home games. Only Liverpool conceded less goals than them last season. They conceded 23 in the 2018/19 season and 27 the year before it. I think it was 17 years ago they last time they conceded that many at home."
Growing in stature
Matt Elliott said: "It's a huge boost to them. People talk about their teams winning trophies and there are crucial points in the development of teams. The manner of how they went about their business... after 65 minutes, Man City were gone and Leicester were looking a threat every time they went forward. The players were growing in stature within that game. We had [James] Maddison pulling his tricks out the bag and [Jamie] Vardy's goal and the penalties were the result of proactive football."