Leicester City entertained Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup at the back of a bitter home league defeat versus Crystal Palace. The Foxes kept some of their star players on the bench and took on a City team in rampant form under Pep Guardiola. They tried to stifle the City attack from the get-go but succumbed to a goal from Bernardo Silva halfway into the first half. Claude Puel’s men tried their best to come back in the second half after the manager subbed in Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Demarai Gray. They pushed hard for the equaliser and got their deserved reward in injury time when Demarai Gray was brought down inside the box. Vardy stepped a converted the penalty to take the match into extra-time.
Both teams tried hard but couldn’t find the winner in extra-time. The result was determined by penalties which saw both Vardy and Mahrez miss their respective spot-kicks for the Foxes. City went through into the semi-finals of the League Cup following their dramatic win on penalties.
Let’s shed some light on how each Leicester City player performed on the night.
GK: Ben Hamer – 5/10
The Leicester keeper didn’t have much to do other than make a few routine saves. He was not at fault for the City goal but failed to save a penalty in the shootout which ultimately cost his team the tie.
RB: Daniel Amartey – 6/10
He made a rare start for Leicester and put in a strong display at right-back.
CB: Aleksander Dragovic – 5/10
He had a few nervy moments at the centre of the Leicester defence and was mediocre, to say the least.
CB: Harry Maguire – 7/10
The young defender was the best Leicester player on the pitch. He stopped the City attackers with a commanding display in the Foxes’ backline. The Sheffield born player also took a penalty for his team and converted with ease and grace.
LB: Christian Fuchs – 6/10
He gave the ball away cheaply at times but grew stronger as the match progressed.
RM: Marc Albrighton – 6/10
A steady performance from the winger before he got subbed in the second half.
CM: Andy King – 5/10
He was guilty of giving away too many fouls in midfield and failed to get his game going at the centre of the park.
CM: Vicente Iborra – 6/10
Not a big threat going forward, the veteran midfielder put in a composed display and shielded the Foxes’ backline well.
LM: Benjamin Chilwell – 5/10
He got into some dangerous positions but failed to deliver a telling cross.
ST: Shinji Okazaki – 7/10
He was a tireless warrior for his team up top and contested every ball and every challenge. However, he had no real chances to get his name on the scoresheet.
ST: Kelechi Iheanacho – 5/10
He failed to have an impact versus his former club.
Substitutes:
ST: Jamie Vardy – 6/10
The English forward looked a threat and converted the all-important penalty to equalise for the Foxes in injury-time. However, his penalty miss cost Leicester the tie.
RM: Riyad Mahrez – 7/10
The Algerian was superb after coming on and created a few good chances for the Foxes. However, most of them went begging with Leicester City attackers failing to provide the finishing touch.
He failed to have the same kind of effect in extra time and missed a penalty that cost his team the match.
LM: Demarai Gray – 7/10
He tried to use his pace on the left flank and earned a crucial penalty for Leicester in stoppage time. His trickery out wide run Kyle Walker ragged.
