What surprised you most about the first game of the season?
I wanted to refer to us looking much sharper than expected for 60 minutes but I can't see past the debacle many supporters had to deal with when trying to enter the ground regarding food and drink.
Kids having to pour away squash from their LCFC sport bottles, unopened soft drinks refused by 'arrogant' stewards, a kid even not allowed to take goalie gloves in? Forcing children to pour away their juice on a hot day because it’s suddenly not permitted seems ludicrous.
Amidst a cost of living crisis, people should not have to fork out more money on extortionate prices in the concourse. I really feel for all the people who had to deal with that without prior warning. It seems an unnecessary change of stance with poor timing; out of touch.
Becky Taylor
We have seen a lot of interesting versions of 'game management' from Rodgers over the years, so in some ways we shouldn't have been surprised to see his decision to chip the midfield diamond that worked so well for the first hour. Brentford had already equalised and were beginning to turn the screw, so weakening the midfield which was already creaking seems stranger the more I think about it.
This is obviously easier to bemoan in hindsight, and Rodgers did try to justify the tactical move as a means to hit Brentford on the counter and add to the lead, although he didn't sound overly convinced himself.
I was also surprised at how off the pace Ndidi looked, but I'm sure that was mostly due to a lack of match fitness.
Matt Jedruch
For a positive surprise, am I allowed to say the set piece defending? We looked calm and assured, helped by Ward who commanded his box well.
On the negative side, I think it was surprising to everyone that Brendan only made one change despite the heat, the obvious fatigue in a lot of the players and the fact we were being totally dominated.
Chloe Dexter
The fact that the same issue still seems to be there. Game management.
After all the talk of a mentality shuffle, the expectation was that there would be a change. By the hour mark, it did actually look like it had changed. A fast start (which was a rarity last season), confident in possession, and strong at the back. 2-0 up. It was a perfect performance.
Then Brentford made five changes, freshening up their legs and adding plenty of attacking threat, whilst we made one and let them dominate. Rodgers decided against using any more of his five available subs and then spoke after the game about fatigue being a key reason why we lost the lead. So why didn’t he change things up? Only he knows.
Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise after the summer we’ve had, but it’s certainly a worrying thing to watch happen on the opening day of the season. Let’s hope it’s a lesson learnt.
Jack Johnson
At the time, it was obviously the KDH-Daka substitution - the latest example of Brendan Rodgers trying to prove how clever he is by changing something that didn't need changing and paying the price.
On reflection, though, it's the fact that although the scoreline may show 2-2, we actually won 1-0 at set pieces. We moan enough about our corners that don't beat the first defender or giving up simple goals at the other end that I guess we should acknowledge when things go well too. It's not as fun but it would be accurate this time at least.
It was a fantastic ball in from James Maddison and a decisive run and header from Timothy Castagne. At the other end, Danny Ward looked secure in his handling and there were some impressive headed clearances by Jamie Vardy and Wesley Fofana, among others.
David Bevan
The main note I had from the game was ‘we didn’t concede from a corner!’, written in massive letters. But we had been informed before the game that it’s Brentford’s Achilles heel as well, so maybe it wasn’t all that surprising.
So my vote goes to something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Brentford had an attacking free kick wide on the left in the second half. Attempted some kind of creative routine, and blasted it straight into the ref. Leicester have never defended a set piece so well.
If Notts Forest showed off the worst routine of the weekend, that might have been second.
James Knight
