Leicester City Fan View: Foxes can write off Manchester City loss

Leicester City were well beaten by Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side looked very comfortable, breezing past the Foxes like they have against almost everybody. I’d say it’s a pleasure to watch, but it’s a little scary when it’s against your own team. For a game many expected us to lose by far more, a 2-0 loss is quite respectable.

Six points from the next nine is the aim

For Claude Puel, this was as free a game as they come. Last season, the Foxes surprised Manchester City. It was apparent very early on, though, that history wasn’t going to repeat itself. Guardiola’s side weren’t as clinical in front of goal early on, but you always felt we could only hold them off for so long. When they turned on the class, they really turned it on. We’ll be disappointed to have seen so little of the ball at home. Having also failed to register a shot on target, it highlights how poorly served Jamie Vardy was.

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The next few weeks feature key games for the Foxes. There’s an away trip to West Ham on Friday night, followed by two home games. First, against Tottenham, and then Burnley. While a result wasn’t expected, or particularly needed this weekend, six points from nine would be the target for our next three. It’s not quite back to the drawing board for Puel’s side, but he’ll want to lift confidence again after a tough game.

Watching his side take on the countless stars of Manchester City was a tall order defensively. He’ll likely take the good and the bad from what we did and look to tweak certain areas ahead of our next games. Defensively we actually didn’t do so badly for the first half. Pace remains an issue down the left for Christian Fuchs, something Guardiola’s side exploited. Our standoff approach on the right allowed Leroy Sane a lot of time and space too. There’s some tightening to do to shore us up. A return to a slightly different formation may solve that and Puel’s more likely to try that again for one of our next home games.

Addressing the balance in midfield

For the most part, our midfield issues are resolved. Yes, there were cracks in it against Manchester City, but with what was required of both Vicente Iborra and Wilfred Ndidi, you can’t blame them. In trying to keep the likes of De Bruyne at bay, our central midfielders had to sacrifice forward play. Putting Riyad Mahrez in the hole behind Vardy is proven to work, provided we have a way of getting the ball to the Algerian.

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He also found himself dropping deep and helping defensively. Great in some ways, but not for getting us up the pitch. Mahrez provided many of the Foxes’ brighter movements. Puel has focused a lot on the winger since joining and it’s paid off. Seemingly happier, we’re getting him back to his best and he’ll be vital to our next few results again.

The approach to Friday’s game with West Ham will be very different. We struggled just to get the ball this weekend and looked panicked on it. It left Vardy generally stranded, and well marked, up field and rendered Demarai Gray virtually useless. It’s frustrating that he’s still not been able to get consistency for us yet, though not entirely his fault.

A fully fit squad is vital

Puel is lucky, his only current concerns are long term injuries to Robert Huth and Matty James. Both could be back in contention for the coming set of games, giving the Foxes a fully fit squad. It’s almost that time of year where it’s back to back three games a week. While not the biggest squad, we are lucky to have cover for almost every spot.

READ MORE: Puel will develop Leicester’s young players

Rotation has been fairly limited, but we may see a couple of faces interchange for the West Ham game. Three months into the season, it’s been a frustrating start for Kelechi Iheanacho and it feel there’s more to come from him if we can work out how to incorporate him.

It was a little surprising that Shinji Okazaki didn’t start against Manchester City. Most likely a knock-on of his return from international duty. He wasn’t the only Foxes player who’d covered a lot of miles travelling. His combativeness was missed, he’s surely guaranteed a start at West Ham to help balance the side again.