The Fosse Way

While the team fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat to their Italian visitors – a clearly accomplished side themselves – several players impressed on the night in what was a tight and, at times scrappy, affair.

Competition

The Premier League International Cup (PLIC) is an Under-21 tournament that gives players from top English academies the chance to experience games against leading youth sides from across Europe. Alongside their league and domestic fixtures, the top 16 finishers in Premier League 2 join 16 invited international teams in this season-long competition.

There are four groups of eight clubs, each containing four PL2 sides and four international teams. Clubs play four matches, all in England and between English and European opposition. The top two progress and it then becomes a single-leg knockout competition.

The PLIC is part of the Premier League’s wider international programme to bridge the gap between academy football and first-team environments, offering academies valuable experience of European competition in a competitive setting.

Teams

Leicester XI (4-1-4-1): Donohue; Aluko (c), Gray, Khela, Ali; Neale; Fisken, Golding, Briggs, Pennant; Otchere.

Subs: French, Amartey (61’), Aideed, Onanaye (90+1’), Omobolaji, Carr (76’), Hutchinson (76’).

Report

From the get-go, as has often been the case in recent years, some ideas from the first team have been showcased by Leon McSweeney’s side. After just four minutes, Leicester trapped Juventus with a high press to regain the ball, leading to an early chance as Briggs fired narrowly wide.

This seemed to awaken Juventus, who quickly worked chances of their own, first through captain Savio – who showed fantastic energy in the wing back role – after Khela was caught in possession, and next as frontman Pugno worked himself an opportunity, but both were well saved by the impressive Donohue in the Leicester goal.

These themes continued all evening, as the game played out in a fragmented fashion. Both sides were often dispossessed on the ball – as was the case when Golding, on his left foot, curled a shot marginally wide after 18 minutes – and both attacked sharply and directly.

Off the ball, the Foxes switched between 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 shapes; often, Golding would join Otchere from the right attacking midfield position to press as a front two, but sometimes, when Juventus were building up down their right-hand side, it would be Briggs who jumped to attempt to win the ball high. These two attacking midfielders were aggressive all evening, allowing Leicester to match up with the visitors’ noticeably sizeable back three.

Although not massively often, when Leicester did have periods of settled possession and looked to build from the back, they displayed a 2-1 first phase buildup shape, with Neale positionally similar to Soumare’s first team role this season, collecting the ball off the centre backs and looking to turn. The full backs offered for the ball from wide, whilst Briggs and Golding generally remaining high up the pitch – although sometimes dropping to collect the ball themselves and drive through the midfield.  

Towards the end of the first half, Leicester grew into the game, with the two sides trading blows after the half-hour mark: Briggs drew a smart Scaglia save from a well-placed shot into the bottom right, before Donohue subsequently matched his Juventus counterpart with a low save from a long-range effort.

At this point, Aluko’s strong physicality and ball winning in defence had become distinct, with it being no surprise that Cifuentes is a clear admirer – I would expect him to play some role for the first team later this season.

The goals came in the second half. Three of them in the space of seven frantic minutes. First, a crossed ball dropped for Amaradio, who was able to finish on the turn and open the scoring for Juventus, with Leicester left wondering how he was afforded the space to manoeuvre so close to goal.

Just two minutes later, an excellent, searching long ball from Kevon Gray found Kian Pennant, who produced a moment of magic, controlling with his chest and taking a couple of touches to drive himself into space before unleashing a penetrating low finish to immediately put the Foxes back on terms.

As Bobby Amartey replaced Aluko on the hour mark, the end-to-end nature of the game continued, with Gray blocking a shot well at one end before Otchere fired one over for Leicester at the other. And in the 62nd minute Pugno, with a fine finish following a loose touch from Khela, netted what would prove to be the winner for Juventus.

From here, the visitors showed their quality with excellent game management, seeing out the win as Leicester struggled to create any meaningful chances. Riley Carr replaced the exciting Alfie Fisken and showed speed and promise himself, rotating well with Bobby Amartey down the right-hand side. Lorenz Hutchinson, a name known to many LCFC fans for his excellent performances at younger levels, also showed his potential with a nice cameo.

Ultimately, as seven added minutes ticked away, it seemed as though it wasn’t going to be for Leicester on the night, with the game eventually finishing 2-1 to the Italian outfit at Seagrave.

Performances

Whilst the team did lose the game, there were several noteworthy Foxes performances. Logan Briggs, as usual, demonstrated impressive tenacity in the centre of midfield, balancing strong running with a creative spark on the ball.

The fans watching on at Seagrave also enjoyed the performances of the right wingers who featured: Fisken who started, and Carr who replaced him. Both looked quick and hungry to light a spark. Tommy Neale also seems an impressive young player with strong qualities in possession but didn’t showcase this as much as he might in less direct games with fewer turnovers.  

Remember the name!

I thought I’d finish with the first of a new section for Seagrave match reports, where I discuss one player who Foxes fans should keep an eye on going forward. Today I’m mentioning Kevon Gray. Already nominated for PL2 Player of the Month, he’s physically excellent, combining speed with strength and aerial presence, and is seemingly a good channel defender – demonstrating an ability to move across the defence and snuff out danger against Juventus when the right back was high up the pitch.

At the same time, Gray is comfortable on the ball (see his brilliant assist for Pennant’s equaliser) and strong in central areas. Like most players at this age, he can misjudge situations positionally or be slightly loose on the ball at times, but for the qualities mentioned, the Foxes youngster is certainly a real talent, and definitely a player for fans to keep an eye on as he develops.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you! I appreciate you reading my article, and I hope you enjoy the Spotlight on Seagrave section on the site, which I hope to add to more going forward.