Has a team ever been knocked out of the cup and fallen into the relegation zone on the same day? Such was the fate that befell Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.
That next-level achievement meant the priorities of the fanbase, at least, were laid bare. This FA Cup tie was a sideshow that took place while panicked news of Blackburn taking the lead spread through the WhatsApp universe, like rumours of a pillaging Viking army spreading from town to town.
Defeat in this particular game therefore was not anywhere near as damaging as what happened on Tuesday night. Sometimes teams embrace being knocked out of the cup to focus on the league, and looking at Leicester’s situation in isolation that was probably the best outcome for us as well. Add the context back in, though, and this is a group of people that desperately need a win.
Since beating Ipswich two months ago, Leicester have now lost 9 out of 13 in all competitions, and one of those wins was against a League Two side. Andy King has lost all four of his games in charge, while Adam Sadler, brought in to ‘support’ him, has now lost six out of six if we include his caretaker run after Brendan Rodgers was sacked.
King evidently – and surely correctly – felt it was better to prioritise trying to win this versus completely giving it up. He made a few changes, most of which served to make the team look stronger than usual, only the absence of Abdul Fatawu and the lumbering reappearance of Jordan Ayew in the starting XI made it notably weaker. It was perhaps revealing, though, that despite a number of senior players in the team, he gave the captain’s armband to Ben Nelson.
The manager is also battling against the weight of the injury list, which is threatening to overwhelm everything. With Bobby De Cordova Reid still suspended, Joe Aribo ineligible, and Jannik Vestergaard and Jamaal Lascelles now absent injured, every available senior outfield player barring Fatawu was in the squad.
Southampton, on the other hand, made 10 changes to the side that won in midweek, and only a couple of them even made the bench. It felt at times like they weren’t exactly over-exerting themselves to win, as Tonda Eckert threw on an increasing number of children for their first team debut in the second half. Samuel Edozie, their best player while he was on, was hooked after an hour. Leicester at this stage were piling on Harry Winks and Ricardo Pereira and Patson Daka and Luke Thomas.
For all that effort and intent, King was rewarded with yet another defeat. Two defensive lapses cost Leicester badly again, from Caleb Okoli in the first half, then a team-wide shambles to allow James Bree a free header at the back post in extra-time. Okoli, who lest we forget cost 12 million Great British Pounds, has become a complete liability at the worst possible time, when there is no alternative to playing him.
The frustrating element of the King era so far is that there have been glimmers of something different. This was not a great game by any means, but there were spells where Leicester looked good. Attacking intent is being valued more than possession alone, and Divine Mukasa has made a big difference in knitting the forward line together. These two things are creating chances in a way that simply did not happen under Marti Cifuentes.
Stephy Mavididi was Leicester’s main outlet, he dragged the team up the pitch after a slow start and he created most of the opportunities for the first hour or so. The problem is his decision-making which, if we’re being generous, reflects a total lack of faith in the players around him. He regularly did well until the last bit, where a sort of brain fog would descend and cause him to slow down, do some step-overs, and mess it up.
Even despite that he came closest to scoring before the break, via an extremely weird deflection where his shot was saved, rebounded off a defender, then looped up and was cleared off the line. He also had another shot saved, and created one very difficult header for Ayew. Ayew himself also effectively retired Joshua Quarshie by beating him in a footrace to a bouncing ball, then had his shot saved by George Long.
Leicester were the better team in the first half, and so you can imagine the collective eye roll when they went in a goal down. Just before the break Oliver Skipp lost the ball to Edozie on the edge of the area, who was promptly upended by Okoli for a blatant penalty.
The second half followed a similar pattern, though it was more even and much more entertaining. The crowning moment came a few minutes into it, when we were treated to the, frankly astonishing, sight of an Oliver Skipp bicycle kick. Some early Leicester pressure forced a corner, which eventually worked its way to Jeremy Monga, his shot was blocked, and the ball looped up to Skipp, who contorted himself like an Olympic gymnast to bang it in at the near post. Oliver Skipp scoring a bicycle kick feels like the sort of thing that should happen to Leicester, not for them. Such is the upside-down world we live in.
Cameron Archer was still reeling from this a few minutes later, when he should have restored Southampton’s lead. Jakub Stolarcyzk, who is deskilling at a rate of knots, palmed a Kuryu Matsuki shot straight to Archer two yards out and he managed to put it wide. This was a pattern for Archer, as he also managed to make a complete mess of a breakaway on the hour, was generally awful, and was sarcastically cheered off the pitch when he was replaced.
Leicester’s best moment, excluding the point at which Ayew hobbled off injured, came right at the end, with a chaotic corner cleared off the line via Nelson and Skipp. Mukasa headed another corner over, while Stolarcyzk did well to beat Finn Azaz to the ball when Southampton threatened a 1v1 counter, similar to how Leicester conceded against Oxford. That was the general pattern of the half, Leicester more dominant on the ball without too many clear chances, Southampton threatening on the break.
Once the game reached extra time it began to drift. Extra time in important games can be filled with drama and emotion. Extra time in this sort of game, where neither team has any interest in another 30 minutes, is no good for anyone. We had a few promising glimpses of Dujuan Richards but beyond that were waiting for penalties.
Until, again, Leicester just gave it away. Nelson conceded a free kick and Ryan Manning, who has tormented Leicester in the three games this season, put in a cross that ended up on Bree’s head via Patson Daka’s flick-on. Luke Thomas let his man go and Jakub Stolarcyzk could perhaps have done better. Plus ca change. Thomas almost redeemed it after a good run from the Silko variant late on, but the shot was deflected over, and the game petered out from there.
The result here we can live with, the worst thing about this run of defeats is how much they feel like missed opportunities. Leicester have wasted the new manager bounce even though there are signs there could have been one with a bit of common sense football in key moments. Instead, the situation is getting worse because they just keep losing. This wasn’t as bad as the previous three league games, but it was cut from the same cloth. Wasted chances, sloppy goals conceded, and more injuries.
No one will mourn Ayew if he is out for a few weeks, but the news post-game that Lascelles is out for “a couple of weeks” is a major concern. In Leicester City speak, that means anything from a month to a career-ender, and his appearance is the only realistic spark we can see for an improvement to the porous back line.
The only other possible source of hope is a new manager. King, as we have said, has made improvements that don’t show up in the results, but experience is needed now. This defeat was the sort of game you lose when you’re used to losing. Someone needs to come in with some idea of how to turn that around. Surely that has to happen before next Saturday?
The Fosse Way 