Leicester City player ratings v Nottingham Forest as Fatawu fails to live up to big billing
Leicester City were undone by their former striker and Steve Cooper was beaten by his former club as Chris Wood’s second-half double won the derby for Nottingham Forest.
A shoddy second half cost City a chance at a third straight win as Wood, in a superb run of form, twice capitalised on slack defending after the break. This time, there was to be no heroic comeback from Cooper’s men.
The first half had been positive, with dominant in possession and pushing Forest deep, with Jamie Vardy equalising after Ryan Yates had opened the scoring. But they could not carry that pattern of play into the second period, with bragging rights head back up the M1.
Ramping up the excitement for the fixture, Cooper named the 11 many fans wanted to see. Ricardo Pereira was in the 11 for the first time in the Premier League this season, with Abdul Fatawu and Stephy Mavididi starting together on the wings and Harry Winks back in midfield. Adding to the intrigue, City were also set up to the Enzo Maresca blueprint, with Ricardo moving into midfield and the winger staying high and wide.
It led to a positive start, with City moving the ball into the final third much more comfortably. But they still found themselves behind after Forest scored with their first shot. Facundo Buonanotte made the first error, trying to dribble out of his own box, and James Justin made the second, clearing ineffectively, allowing Yates to find the bottom corner from 20 yards out.
City responded immediately, and they did so with a fine team move. The Ricardo and Harry Winks combination in midfield worked a treat to get the latter driving up the pitch.
Winks offloaded but continued his run, receiving the ball in the box and crossing low for Vardy to poke in. With his fourth goal in nine games, the skipper has already surpassed his tally from the relegation campaign.
But City were reliant on their goalkeeper to stay ahead. A corner dropped kindly to Nicolas Dominguez a few yards out and he hammered at goal, Mads Hermansen instinctively sticking out a leg to produce a stunning save.
While they didn’t create too many glaring chances, City continued to push high and had Forest penned in for much of the half. However, they couldn’t replicate that at the start of the second period, and sloppy play allowed Forest to take control.
Inside two minutes of the second period, Winks conceded possession, Elliot Anderson found Wood and the former City striker spun Caleb Okoli to find the bottom corner. A few minutes later, Callum Hudson-Odoi curled an effort against the base of the post.
Quickly, Forest had a third. Matz Sels launched a long ball up the pitch, Wout Faes only headed it up into the air and Wood latched onto it, nodding coolly over the stranded Hermansen. Subs didn’t make a difference for City and Forest should have had a fourth when Yates blazed over from a few yards out at a corner.
City offered little in the way of a robust response in the final 20 minutes. Their play was sloppy and against the second-best defence in the division, they found no way through. Here’s how we scored the players.
Mads Hermansen: Produced an out-of-this-world reflex save to deny Dominguez at close range in the first half and keep the game level. That’s another one for the highlight reel. Could he have done better for the third Forest goal? It’s perhaps harsh to suggest so. 7
Ricardo Pereira: He looked comfortable in his midfield role and linked really well with Winks, playing first-time passes to get City on the move. Defensively, Hudson-Odoi didn’t trouble him too greatly, but Ricardo did look rusty when it came to sprinting back. 6
Wout Faes: With Okoli defending really well, it felt like there was limited work for Faes to do, bar passing into midfield, which he did well. But for the third Forest goal, he was all at sea, with Wood’s strength and movement forcing an error that the Kiwi then capitalised on. 5
Caleb Okoli: He was excellent in the first half. He stepped in well to pinch the ball and his positioning was spot on, meaning he was regularly in the right place to clear crosses and avert danger. But, he wasn’t tight enough to Wood for the second goal, allowing him the half a second he needed to turn and score. 7
James Justin: It was a really poor attempt at a clearance for the Yates opener and he was punished for it. Defensively, he wasn’t too shabby after that, but when he moved, he wasn’t at all effective. 5
Wilfred Ndidi: He did all of the basics well, passing with composure and into the right areas, and driving into space when it was afforded to him. He perhaps didn’t disrupt the opposition’s play as much as he has done in recent weeks. 7
Harry Winks: He was brilliant in the first half. He spread play well and was at the heart of all of City’s promising attacking moves, including for the goal, where he broke out of midfield and delivered the cross for Vardy to finish. But a sloppy ball was punished by Wood for Forest’s second, and he made a few bad passes after that too. 7
Abdul Fatawu: He didn’t live up to the big billing. His decision-making at the top end wasn’t great and he didn’t get past Moreno all that often, meaning there was very little in the way of end product from the Ghanaian. 5
Facundo Buonanotte: His direct dribbling and close control meant he was the best of City’s attacking players, the Argentinian looking dangerous around the box. But he lost the ball in the build-up to the Forest first and let frustration get the better of him in the second period. 6
Stephy Mavididi: Aina stopped him early on and so Mavididi stopped attempting to dribble past him from then on. His link-up play was okay when he got on the ball, but he just wasn’t involved that much. 5
Jamie Vardy: A lovely run and a deft touch got him yet another goal, the striker surpassing his tally from the relegation season already. But unfortunately, no other chances fell his way. When he dropped deep to link play, he did fairly well. 6
Bilal El Khannouss: Made decent runs at times, but then was isolated. Didn’t really make a difference in attack. 5
Jordan Ayew: Gave away fouls and didn’t make City any more threatening. A shame after his winner last week. 4
Boubakary Soumare: Had one excellent surge through midfield before he was tripped. But otherwise he got wrapped up in the chaos of City’s second-half play, picking up the same positions as Winks, with no link between the pair. 5