James Maddison was the only bright spot in a sub-par Leicester City side as they were beaten 1-0 by Legia Warsaw on Thursday.
Legia Warsaw were the brighter of the two sides early, although they could not make their chances count. For much of the remainder of the first half, Leicester City appeared to be in control of the game, with Ayoze Perez getting two chances in quick succession, only to not get his feet sorted to find the finish.
At the half-hour mark, the Foxes then went behind as Mahir Emreli scored from the edge of the box after bullying Daniel Amartey. Thereafter, Leicester continued to dominate the proceedings without really troubling Cezary Miszta in the Legia Warsaw goal, meaning they are still in search of their first win of the season in the Europa League. The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over Brendan Rodgers’s men.
Kasper Schmeichel: 5/10
Schmeichel could not have done much to deny Mahir Emreli for the only goal of the game, but it was indeed the Leicester captain whose poor clearances facilitated the chance in the first place. Made a couple of important saves, though, to keep his team in the game.
Daniel Amartey: 4/10
With Brendan Rodgers switching the formation around, Amartey was recalled into the starting lineup, but he once again failed to make an impression. Kept away from the ball a bit too easily when Emreli scored for Legia Warsaw, and the 26-year-old constantly looked suspect at the back. The only positive from him was that he rarely ever lost the ball cheaply.
Jannik Vestergaard: 4/10
Amartey might have been the player to get bullied for the Legia Warsaw goal, but Vestergaard was also culpable of giving Emreli too much space to get his shot in while also blinding Schmeichel to some extent. All over the place when the hosts got a few moves in late on. Not doing himself any favours.
Caglar Soyuncu: 4/10
A game to forget for Soyuncu, who was off the boil right from the initial stages, giving away an early chance to Legia Warsaw. Not among those to be blamed for the goal scored by the hosts but he was run ragged by their attackers whenever they charged forward, especially in the dying embers of the game.
Timothy Castagne: 5/10
Given the license to attack at will, Castagne really ought to have done better on his forward forays, as apart from setting James Maddison up late on, the Belgian international did not really carry much of a threat. Needs to step up.
Boubakary Soumare: 5/10
Making a rare start for Leicester, this was Soumare’s chance to show that he deserves more game-time going forward. However, the 22-year-old was sloppy in possession, losing the ball 19 times, although he did play three key passes. Might have done better in a deeper role, perhaps.
Youri Tielemans: 6/10
One of the better performers for Leicester. Tielemans was deployed in a deeper role in the middle of the park and did well to assert the Foxes’ control on the game, completing 87 percent of the passes he attempted. Solid off the ball as well, winning four duels. Alas, he could not really make a telling contribution to get Leicester back in the game.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: 5/10
Handed his debut in Europe, Dewsbury-Hall had a hit and miss game. While the youngster linked up well from set-pieces, he lacked ideas when moving the ball along in open play and lost the ball as many as 15 times. All part of his learning curve, though.
Luke Thomas: 4/10
A constant outlet down the left flank, Thomas had the opportunity to create many a chance, but his final ball was dreadful to say the least. On top of that, his advance positioning on the pitch meant Legia Warsaw often managed to exploit the space behind him. Has to do better to make his chances count.
Ayoze Perez: 4/10
Leicester have become known for their smart transfer business over the last few years, but £30 million on Ayoze Perez has got to be one of the worst deals of the last decade. They will never take that next step forward with him as a starter. #lcfc #LegiaLeicester pic.twitter.com/iiSxQr52aF
— Sam (@SamJGollings) September 30, 2021
Given a chance to impress, Perez produced a horrendous performance. The Spaniard had a couple of big chances coming his way in the first half, but he just could not get his feet sorted, making a meal of both the openings. Did not lose the ball cheaply but did not get his primary task completed either, which is why it was not too surprising that he was the first to be taken off.
Patson Daka: 5/10
One of the brighter players for Leicester on the day, Daka did not see a whole lot of the ball but did make use of it better than most others on the pitch from his side. There were one or two sloppy touches but Daka did deserve at least one assist for setting up Perez. His efforts did not have bite in them.
SUBSTITUTES
James Maddison: 7/10
On for Dewsbury-Hall, Maddison proved to be the only positive in the game for Leicester, coming close to scoring on a couple of occasions while also fashioning an opening or two. However, it was not to be for him in the end.
Harvey Barnes: 5/10
On the cusp of becoming Leicester City’s top goalscorer in Europe, Barnes would have liked to have turned things around after replacing Perez. However, the Englishman just could not manage to find his feet and made little impact in the final quarter of the game.
Ademola Lookman: 6/10
A bright spark upon being introduced, Lookman looked to get into dangerous scoring positions but could not really get his effort close to the Legia Warsaw goalkeeper.
Jamie Vardy: N/A
A late introduction, Vardy barely touched the ball in the dying embers of the game and did not see a chance coming his way.
