Leicester City’s scrappy 1-0 was their most uninspiring showing of the season, however, for manager Claudio Ranieri it may be his favourite so far.
While many of the Leicester faithful will care very little for the way in which they secured the three points – courtesy of a Brede Hangeland gift – it was not a game that will be remembered as the most pleasing of spectacles.
For most of the contest, both sides lacked any real quality in possession, failing to create any significant chances on goal. While the conditions were not ideal, the Foxes in particular overused the long ball, monotonously cut out by the Palace defence.
Through Jamie Vardy’s opportunistic game winner – the seventh game in a row he has netted – Ranieri’s men escaped with maximum points from a game they perhaps did not deserve to.
Despite the Foxes’ blistering start to the season, it took until the Palace contest (the 10th league game they have played) to register their first clean sheet. In fact, Leicester had not even held a team scoreless in any game this season, whether in the Premier League or in the cups. For this reason, the manager will be thrilled about his side’s defensive performance.
Ranieri has long been yearning for a clean sheet. A clear weakness for the side under Nigel Pearson last term, the ‘Tinkerman’ identified on the club’s official site that he would not be “chang[ing] too much” tactically from last season, while gradually working on the team’s poor defensive record. Often, he has reminded everyone of his Italian nationality and the love of clean sheets that it entails.
He has also identified that while his side escaped with a point after coming from two goals down against Stoke (and also snatching a victory from Villa after a two goal head start), that such poor starts were not sustainable, declaring “It’s good that we’re still unbeaten. You can afford mistakes, but not to repeat them over and over which we are doing, but we need to get a clean sheet soon.”
In a much publicised effort to motivate his side, Ranieri has also suggested that he would buy his team pizza if they were to keep a clean sheet, a tongue-in-cheek comment on the side’s porous defence.
Many reasons have been offered for why the Foxes have conceded in every game. Most recently, Ranieri had to defend goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, stating, “Kasper is doing very well. He’s calm about it and I’m very happy”. Blaming the goalkeeper for conceding goals, however, would be a too simplistic view.
One may look at the fullbacks (particularly Ritchie De Laet and Jeffrey Schlupp), who are much more interested in attacking than defending. In recent games, Christian Fuchs and Danny Simpson have featured (while Schlupp has featured further afield), indicating that Ranieri has identified a weakness in the line.
Another theory for Riyad Mahrez’ recent benching is that while he is in superb form in an attacking sense, he is not yet to Ranieri’s liking defensively. Even in the midst of the Algerian’s breathtaking start to the campaign, the Leicester boss was quick to remind everyone that while he was happy with Mahrez’s performance, “I am an Italian manager and I am interested also in how he defends, and he is getting better.”
“He will improve and at the end he could be a very, very complete player.”
Furthermore, even when Mahrez returned to the starting lineup on Sunday morning, he did so in a central-attacking role, a clear indicator that Ranieri is concerned about the Algerian’s propensity to help out his fullback.
N’Golo Kante has since cemented his spot in central-midfield and it was his quality when tracking back against Palace (in particular his efforts in nullifying Yohan Cabaye’s influence) that was instrumental in gaining three points.
Ranieri had seemingly softened his stance in recent weeks on his desire to keep a clean sheet and while he again cited his nationality, the manager said in the lead up to the Palace game:
“I’m Italian and when you concede a goal, it cuts inside your heart. But if you end up drawing the game or winning it then I just have to close one eye to it.”
“[Our defence] is our weakness, but it’s also important to score one more goal that the other team.”
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After the Foxes finally delivered defensively, the boss will be no doubt be excited at the prospect of his side’s potential to build upon the performance.
A desire to concede less should, however, be balanced against his side’s obvious strength – the attack – which lacked a constant threat against the Eagles.
In the meantime Ranieri may well treat himself, along with his players, to a big slice of pizza now that his Italian desire has finally been fulfilled.
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