At the very end of the first round of the Premier League at the King Power Stadium, Tottenham came to Leicester, who were returning to the elite after a year’s break, and who must already be expected to advance to the Champions League in Ange Postecoglou’s second season at the club.
The hosts showed a different face than in the previous Championship season
The reason is simple. During the break between games, the coach FoxesEnzo Maresca was taken out by Chelsea, so Leicester’s owners had to find a successor. They chose the opposite of their predecessor, because a pragmatic coach who focused primarily on defense, namely Steve Cooper. Such was the Leicester of today. Set up in a 4-4-2 system, defending in their own half, focusing on closing the center, but leaving too much space on the wings.
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And Tottenham knew how to take advantage of this. Roosters They dominated their opponents without any problem from the first whistle and closed them not so much in their own half, but in the defensive third. The visitors created many situations from set pieces, of which they had plenty. There were also many situations in which they lacked a foot or header to the ball travelling across the penalty area. The goal was hanging in the air and in the 29th minute, after Maddison’s cross, Pedro Porro scored. Leicester did not pose any threat until the break. They fired one shot from the area of the centre circle and had 1 contact with the ball in the opponent’s penalty area, out of 22 such touches by Tottenham. Steve Cooper had to change something, because the course of the game heralded more goals for the visitors.
The second half was more balanced.
Leicester didn’t change their personnel or formation, but they started playing a bit more boldly. Although there was little to suggest it, the immortal Jamie Vardy equalised less than fifteen minutes after the break. The 37-year-old had been injured earlier, and hadn’t played a single minute in the pre-season, but in the absence of a striker in the team (Patson Daka is also recovering from an injury), he came out in the starting line-up and did what he had to do.
Tottenham conceded a goal against the run of play and needed time to recover. At the King Power Stadium, football once again reminded us how much of this sport depends on mentality. Roosters continued to lead the game, but Leicester regularly responded with counterattacks. Ange Postecoglou tried to save the result with changes, but his team became increasingly nervous, and the players brought on from the bench did not maintain the high level imposed by the players from the starting lineup. Tottenham had 3 points in their hands today, but did not close the game early enough, and when they got a goal, they were unable to react appropriately. Although Spurs are hellishly strong at their best, they need to work to stabilize their form and become a team more resistant to failures.
Leicester 1:1 Tottenham (58′ Vardy – 29′ Pedro Porro)
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