On a separate note though, a few points: 1) Inler didn't look great today, perhaps will take him a while to fit in 2) On the other hand, I'm very impressed with Kante 3) De Laet is still such a liability, this is definitely the weakest part of our team 4) That Grealish has one of those faces you want to smack... So glad we beat Villa just for that! 5) Enjoyed the reception Hutton got, he's another one I dislike immensely... 6) WE'RE SECOND IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE 7) Roll on Stoke next weekend...
No better time to go to Stoke, their down on their luck at the moment and have quite a few injury and suspension problems
70 minutes of teeth gnashing followed by 20 of delirium. I cant believe how Kante seems to get legs where they shouldn't be to nip the ball back
He's actually a good header of the ball and has often been used as a target man when the keeper kicks out of hand - he's got a fair leap has Nathe!
Any loose ball and Kante is having it. No player in England, Spain, France, Germany or Italy made more tackles or picked up most loose balls then Kante last season You can see why
I doubt Inler will be dropped after 1 start, but he'll haveto improve or Kante may be starting against Arsenal.
Spirit in the team seems better than ever, Ranieri is just what the club needed (complete antithesis of Pearson). He is not going to hesitate to make substitutions, is visibly passionate and treats everyone with respect and a smile. Take your word for it about the missus!!!!!!!!!
at 2-0 down. Skybet had us 88-1 to win. Put a cheeky fiver on I thought... Frickin' battery went before I confirmed! Gutted but overjoyed at the same time. What a team we have! Marez is a boss, Vardy doesn't stop, Kante looks hard to play against and we have a strong bench too.I've always rated Dyer, great business getting him for the season and Ranieri's changes we're inspired. Loving it! (Would love it even more if I was 400quid up too!)
I think DD and Inler will start the next game but keeping Kante on the bench seems almost criminal. I hope we dont try and play him LM instead of albrighton.
Not sure about Inler and Drinkwater in midfield as they are quite similar players, think either would be better paired with Kante who's surely worthy of a start against Stoke, as is Dyer. I think Inler had a better performance than many are giving him credit for, but DD and Kante were better. Nice to see Danny get some credit on MOTD tonight. Could possibly play that 4-2-3-1 we finished with, Mahrez occupying the number 10 role behind Vardy and Dyer replacing Albrighton (perhaps a little harsh) and Kante replacing Inler.
Player ratings (from SKY sports) Leicester: Schmeichel (5), De Laet (7), Huth (5), Morgan (5), Schlupp (6), Mahrez (8), Drinkwater (6), Inler (5), Albrighton (6), Okazaki (5), Vardy (7). Subs: Kante (6), Ulloa (5), Dyer (7). Aston Villa: Guzan (5), Bacuna (5), Richards (6), Lescott (5), Amavi (6), Westwood (6), Sanchez (5), Gil (7), Grealish (7), Agbonlahor (6), Sinclair (5). Subs: Ayew (5), Hutton (5), Gestede (5). Man of the match: Riyad Mahrez. Not wanting to be a **** head, but our DEF isn“t a prem DEF, imo. A few were not at the races yesterday & not just the DEF either.
I hate how much scoring a goal impacts on defenders performance rating. De Laet was awful, and Villa looked to target him, a lot of their first half attacks came from Villas left hand side. Kante at a 6 is also a bit harsh, he was great when he came on? And Drinkwater a 6? That's low, considering on MOTD2, and I quote, "Drinkwater gave the complete midfield performance"
Huth didn't have a good game, which is the first time imo since he joined us on loan last season. Felt Morgan had a decent game, using his strength to effectively keep Agbonglahor out of the game through the center. It was the standard DeLaet performance defensively, he was out of position alot of the time when they were attacking, letting players turn inside, but Villa came a plan and were exploiting his side alot more than Schlupps.
I think people are a bit harsh on DeLaet. A lot of the time he isn't getting support from Mahrez who doesn't always track back and is often up against 2 players. Thought he had a very decent 2nd half.
Just read some stats about Mahrez, which impressed me even more. Mahrez covered 7.1 miles yesterday, more than any other Leicester player. Plus, he was involved in more duels (30) than any other player. He came out on top 20 out of those 30... So, it's not all just pace and trickery...