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Leicester Stock Watch: Marc Albrighton continues to shine

A bitter draw felt like two important points dropped despite quality performances from some of Leicester’s own.

Leicester City v Swansea City - Premier League Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images

A 1-1 draw with Swansea City was likely a disappointment for the Foxes given their respective performances. The Swans were completely overmatched for the entire first half, only to then find a 53rd minute equalizer from a corner.

Despite the underwhelming result, there were still good signs for Leicester City as they dominated in open play:

Stock Up

Marc Albrighton: He was as influential as anybody on the pitch. Albrighton took on much of the creative responsibility with Mahrez out and did so to great effect. In the first half he was heavily influential in much of City’s buildup play and pushed the team forward with confident dribbling and incisive passes. When things got a bit more desperate at the end of the match he whipped in several dangerous crosses and caused all sorts of issues for Swansea. Marc Albrighton’s performances continue to improve as he has become one of the most valuable players on the roster.

Aleksandar Dragovic: The Bayer Leverkusen loanee has held his own as a replacement for the injured Wes Morgan. In fact, there is a case to be made that he should be City’s first signing in the summer. Against Swansea, he was remarkably calm on the ball. According to whoscored.com, he accurately placed nine of his eleven attempted long balls. He also completed 92.6% of his 54 total passes and had 64 total touches. This was all in addition to his steady defensive performance in which he contributed three tackles and three clearances.

Leicester City Training and Press Conference


Judge him by his hair, do you?
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images

Kelechi Iheanacho: This marks another week on this list for Iheanacho. His brace against Fleetwood appears to have jumpstarted his season as he seems more confident with each passing game. Against Swansea he found himself in the role of supporting striker that he had struggled with earlier in the season. Instead of awkwardly trying to mimic Jamie Vardy, however, this time around he found his own way. This culminated in a jaw-dropping assist to Vardy in which he displayed beautiful control over the ball.

Stock Down

Set-piece defending: This is the issue that never dies. No matter who is starting for the Foxes, it seems they struggle to defend set-pieces. This time it was Christian Fuchs who appeared to mindlessly wander away from the man he was marking, and leave him free to head home unbothered. Mistakes like this are way too common for City and have now cost the team several points.

Leicester City v Swansea City - Premier League
Christian Fuchs taking a mid-game nap while Federico Fernandez scores the equalizer.
Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images

Adrien Silva: He replaced Matty James as the midfield partner of Wilfred Ndidi, but didn’t take full advantage of the opportunity. The Portuguese midfielder was visibly exhausted by the time he was subbed off in the 67th minute. In his time on the pitch he had less touches than every other Fox but the strikers and Kasper Schmeichel. He also attempted just 44 passes; a whopping 30 less than Ndidi. Though Wilf has become a much more complete player, it is still expected that he be the more defensive presence of the two midfielders. Thus, the lackluster offensive presence of Silva in this particular affair was disappointing.