It was sad to see Ruud van Nistelrooy not keeping faith in the partnership between Bilal El Khannouss and Facundo Bounanotte, but decided to replace the Argentinian international with Jordan Ayew, as Leicester again had it difficult, without really getting some sort of momentum.
We do understand why Ruud is confused as Facundo Bounanotte not always does the correct movement or decisions, losing the ball too often and missing passes etc, but to just ignore his top level and ability to take on opponents and create chances for other players, shows why this project at this moment is not going in the correct direction.
First half Leicester kept their defensive structure at a good level, but offensively it was sleeping mode, taking away the first three or four minutes when a penalty situation could have set Leicester off in the best way possible, but that did not happen.
The major question is, as we also did see against Crystal Palace, what is going on at half time, looking far from being triggered and ready to go as the opponent scored their goal after just four minutes into the second half. A nice goal scored by Fulham with intencity and quickness that made Leicester defenders again too slow in reaction.
Frustrating afternoon.#LEIFUL pic.twitter.com/VSNabGqLw5
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 18, 2025
There was no real momentum in the game, from a Leicester point of view, and Ruud and his coaches decided to give the team an electric shock again, taking off two players in the 64th minute. Changing the system and again in real pushing the pannic button. In that act, even deciding to take off Bilal El Khannouss. You start to wonder what type of football philosophy and mindset is behind such a decision, among the two no Facundo Bounanotte, strange and totally unbelievable.
Then just 4 minutes after the system change and substitutions, you see Fulham taking advantage of the situation, scoring their second goal and kills the game completely. Leicester at this time are far from the structure they intend to play, with a team not really in the correct place at that moment. He could have just taken off Jordan Ayew and put on Facundo Bounanotte, no need for anything more, then bring on possibly Patson Daka to replace Jamie Vardy in the last four or five minutes, that could have at least given Leicester a point today.
Fulham are no walk in the park and they showed today the grid and determination in the final faces, being best inside the two boxes, or if you like, in front of goal, having the players that shows up and put football games to bet. Joakim Andersen and Emile Smith-Rowe showed their presence, with match winning attitude.
- Positives
- First half, having control and not falling over
- Jamie Vardy working hard to get to chances
- Bouba Soumare, Bilal El Khannouss and Facundo Bounanotte showing some promise
- Negatives
- Ruud van Nistelrooy making a fatal error in leaving Facundo Bounanotte on the bench, playing Jordan Ayew from start
- Oliver Skipp, coming on and having a stinker again, he looks far from what he is supposed to be
- A new panic act when doing too many substitutions and not really understanding and reading the game to it’s full with no real reason to change the system and go for a solution that in real gives Fulham a goal
Player Ratings: Stolarczyk 5, Justin 5, Kristiansen 5, Faes 5, Vestergaard 5, Winks 5, El Khannouss 6, Vardy 6, Soumare 6, Mavididi 5, Ayew 4 Subs: Daka, Skipp, McAteer, Bounanotte
- Leicester City, Man of the Match
Match Stats (H/A)
- Possession: 38 / 62
- Shots on Target: 4 / 2
- Corners: 5 / 2
- Fouls: 8 / 8
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