Defeats are always going to be bittersweet early on in the season. Bitter, because, well, self-explanatory; tepidly sweet because there will be lessons to be picked up amongst the rubble, which when appareled rightly, could be a source of introspection and strength. Here are three of those that should give the wizened Claudio Ranieri a point of reference, to bolster his affirmations and confirm his fears.
Here are 3 lessons Leicester City can take away from this humbling.
#1 A Two-man Midfield Wouldn’t Work All The Time
With a N’golo Kante shaped hole in midfield to contend with, and then to have the man who is expected to fill the shoes, out with ankle injury [Nampalys Mendy], you’re asking for trouble fielding a two-man midfield. We, at The 4th Official, advocated the use of a three in the middle, in one of our previews, considering the inexperience of 21-year-old Ghanian, Daniel Amartey. It played out just as we feared it would. Bob Firmino ran circles around young Daniel and left the midfield of him and Danny Drinkwater in a tizzy which is off the movement.
With Firmino displaying the off the ball stealth of a football ninja, Henderson’s role as a untiring hustler, and the steel of a returning Lucas Leiva, overwhelmed and overran the duo, and thus the story was writ. Amartey had to be in two places at once, and Danny didn’t have half a chance to dictate play.
Ranieri may have to rethink his two-man policy, putting in an extra man in, to relieve pressure, and secondly to assert their style.
#2 Ranieri Needs To Break The Glass Ceiling Again
The biggest challenge facing Ranieri this season is to embolden the players enough to believe that they could do it again. If winning the Premier League was Ranieri’s managerial Everest, motivating the same bunch of player to do it again, many of whom who may believe that last season’s triumphs may be as good as it gets could be his managerial equivalent of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
After the second goal went in, Leicester City just keeled over, and Liverpool obliged to pull their magic carpet from beneath them.
#3 Ahmed Musa and Jamie Vardy Is A No-No
Make no mistake, Leicester fans. Ahmed Musa was bought as a safety precaution to Arsenal’s courting of Jamie Vardy – in the sense that he was deemed to be a like for like replacement, to be deployed in running the channels, and off the shoulder of the last man. Playing both of them together resigns Musa, who is 5’7″, to play with his back to goal, taking out most of the natural elements in his game out of the equation.
Ideally, Ahmed Musa should be brought off the replace Vardy or to fill in for Albrighton on the left-hand flank, while their club record transfer, Islam Slimani finds his place in the team as the attacking reference point, with his ability to play his back to goal, and slip in passes to runners beyond him, which would bring the best out of both Vardy and Mahrez.
