Match Ratings: Leicester v Wolves

Leicester City fought, clawed, and scrapped their way to three points on Sunday, which finally saw the foxes climb out of the relegation zone by a score of 2-1. The team showed the spirit worthy of a team willing to give what is necessary to survive this battle. Let’s get to the match ratings.

Daniel Iversen: Made a couple of excellent saves, and the lone Wolves’ goal was really no fault of his own. Seems to really have solidified himself in the Leicester goal. 7.

Timothy Castagne: Was nothing but solid for the first 75 minutes of the match. Then he popped up in the opposite box with an excellent side-footed finish to take the three points. 7.

Wout Faes: Was stable at the back, although one could argue he set Youri up for failure with his pass to him amid a crowded midfield. Regardless, he read the game well. Without Soyuncu and Faes, the game could have been over in the first half. 7.

Caglar Soyuncu: Man of the match for me. Charges may need to be filed against Rodgers for not playing him if Cags continues playing like this. Costa has troubled many defenders with his physicality, but not Soyuncu. Anything you can think of that a defender should do, he did well. He did all of this without losing his discipline like we have seen in the past. 9.

Victor Kristiansen: He gave the ball away far too often in the first half. Probably his worst half since he arrived in January. However, he defended well and provided the game winning assist. He defended the lead heroically after as well. 6.

Boubakary Soumare: Seemed really off the pace in the first 45 minutes. Just did not seem to read the game quick enough as the lone holding midfielder. In the second half that all changed. His strength on the ball and the ability to carry the ball forward is second to none on his day. He combined well with Daka and Kristiansen for the winning goal, and ran hard to defend the lead. 6.5.

Youri Tielemans: Still looks so rusty. Was constantly giving the ball away, and Wolves’ midfield players were running right past him. This was a match to forget, and hopefully he can right the ship because the foxes need him at his best in order to survive. 4.

Tete: You watch him play and wonder how he isn’t scoring or assisting more often. So skillful and quick on the ball. This wasn’t the game for him to show off those skills though. He worked so hard defensively, and made the right decisions with his passes more often than not. 6.

Kelechi Iheanacho: This was vintage Nacho, in more ways than one. Sometimes, he will take too long to make a decision and look like a bit of a donkey. Other times, he will smack a shot in the top corner or play a world-class ball in behind the defenders. He played a couple of those passes, and scored the penalty won by Vardy. He then proceeded to miss a glorious chance to add a third. 7.

Patson Daka: Looked out of place on the left, which makes sense because he is in fact a striker. Occasionally he would pick up the ball and run straight up the pitch, which is never a bad idea if it works. He had a couple of chances to score, and if Dewsbury-Hall gets his pass right, may have scored. This just underscores the need for another player who can play off the left, because we found out in this game that he is not going to succeed out wide. 6.

Jamie Vardy: Finally came out of the woodwork and played a bit more like his old self. He may have made the wrong decision to try to square the ball to Tete, but he won the penalty. With that being said, he seemed to not control the ball as well as we are used to seeing, and winning the penalty saw him come off injured. 6.

Substitutes

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: Busy, busy, busy. He ran hard, but skied a chance just after he came on the pitch. He had a few chance to play teammates in and couldn’t get the weight of the pass right, most notably a pass to Daka during a 3-on-2 break that could have led to a goal. 5.

Wilfred Ndidi: The partnership with Soumare worked really well, and he contributed well defensively. Bonus points for booting a ball out of the stadium in the final moments. Pretty bad when that was one of my favorite moments of the season. 6.

Dennis Praet: Leicester had no strikers on the pitch for most of the time he was on the pitch, so they were sitting deep. He definitely helped close down the right side of the pitch though. 5.5.

Papy Mendy: Didn’t contribute much for the short time he was on the pitch. N/A

Dean Smith: Because of injuries basically just named the team that he could. Bringing Soyuncu back into the fold has paid dividends, but he needs to get some of his players back to insure survival. 7.

Deep breaths people. This is going to be a rollercoaster of a ride. Six games to play, only out of the relegation zone on goal difference. The schedule reads as such: Leeds, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Newcastle, West Ham. Winning our next two games may provide the cushion we need to survive the tough stretch through the middle of May. We travel to Leeds tomorrow, and honestly, I have no clue what to expect. This squad has the ability to do this. Time will tell if they will.

Questions? Comments? Hit the comments below!