Leicester City 2-1 Borussia Monchengladbach: lessons from the final preseason game

Leicester City finished their tune up for 2016/17 Premier League season with a 2-1 win at the King Power Stadium over Borussia Monchengladbach. The Foxes started slow and looked second best for much of the first half, but things picked up as they went along.

The second half started poorly, with an early goal conceded, but after that was probably the best 45 minutes we’ve put together so far. What can we learn from this, heading into the season opener against Arsenal?

1) Vardy is ready to party

The talismanic striker was back to his best, right from the start. He worked hard, harried defenders and regularly got in behind the back line. The only problem was the same one that dogged us through the last four games: sticking the ball in the net.

In the second half, he turned that around, scoring twice. The first was a classic Vardy goal. James took the place of Drinkwater for the 50 yard through ball, and the England striker did the rest with a great first touch and finish.

2) Iheanacho is a difference maker

The 20 year old’s debut was about 17 minutes long and contained two goals, including an assist from the Nigerian, and then an injury.

Fortunately, Shakey has assured us all that his removal was only a precaution and he’s expected to be back in training by Monday. The new man made an obvious impact, and he won't need to keep up the goal every 9 minutes pace to improve our fortunes this year.

3) Adventures with Harry Maguire

It’s going to be interesting. Maguire looks like a very solid defender so far and he’s forming a strong partnership with Wes Morgan. He’s also comfortable on the ball. Really really comfortable.

It’s going well so far. He’s not been caught out once. But as someone who remembers Sol Bamba’s forward jaunts, it’s going to take a while to adjust to Maguire’s comfort in the opposite half.

4) No Drinkwater against Arsenal

Post match, it was confirmed that Drinky is likely out for at least 10 days, so we won't see him in the first league game. Wilfred Ndidi had a solid game defensively and got to show off his rocket launcher a couple times, so I suspect he’s already on the team sheet.

Matty James got the start today, and he was pretty good, but unspectacular...until he suddenly became spectacular with his over the top ball for Vardy. Will that be enough to keep his place? We know Shakey is a bag fan, but Iborra has undeniable quality. Still, it’s a good headache rather than a bad one.