Jamie Vardy again proved the difference as Leicester City triumphed over Crystal Palace last night in an attritional contest at the King Power Stadium.
Alan Pardew lamented that it was ‘a mistake that cost [Crystal Palace] the game’, which is as accurate a summation that one will likely hear of the game.
In a contest that was mostly a dour affair (a rarity for the hosts in particular), the sides were separated by a combination of a Brede Hangeland error and a classy finish from Jamie Vardy – who has now netted in seven consecutive league games – only the fifth Englishman to ever achieve such a feat.
The contest was not without its controversy, however, with two late penalty shouts by Crystal Palace waved away by referee Mike Dean – one a possible hand ball by Christian Fuchs and the other adjudged to be simulation by Wilfried Zaha.
Further controversy ensued off the pitch as the managers failed to shake hands at the end of the game, Pardew citing time-wasting and ‘goading’ of players from his counterpart as the source of tension.
Ranieri will not mind though, as his side moves to 19 points (and fifth place), almost halfway to the first objective for the season. The 1-0 scoreline also sees the Foxes record their first clean sheet of the season – meaning Ranieri will eventually have to buy pizza for his players as promised.
Palace remain in sixth, still yet to record a draw this season, a result that would have perhaps been a fair outcome on the balance of play.
Formations
Ranieri opted to play 4-2-3-1 as opposed to the usual 4-4-2, with Shinji Okazaki relegated to the bench. He continued with Jeffrey Schlupp and Mark Albrighton on the flanks, while also deploying Riyad Mahrez in a more central role before moving to the wing in the second-half. The back four remained unchanged from their previous outing, while N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater were again preferred in midfield.
Pardew also deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation. With Dwight Gayle missing through suspension and an injury cloud remaining over Connor Wickham, the manager decided upon Fraizer Campbell to lead the attackling line. Behind Campbell were the familiar faces of Yannick Bolasie, Jason Puncheon and Bakary Sako.
The long balls did not work.
Much to the ire of the home crowd, the Foxes in particular tried to play long balls to little effect throughout much of the first-half.vOver the entire game, Leicester only completed 29% of their attempts to play these passes, indicative of the scrappy nature of the contest.
The movement was often slow and without much-needed creativity, meaning the long-ball was relied upon far-too regularly. Marc Albrighton, in what was arguably his poorest performance of the season, was the biggest culprit. He completed just one of his six attempts at picking out a teammate from distance (17%).
Both sides lacked penetration.
The shot tally finished 12-9 in the hosts’ favour, but tellingly each side only had three attemptts at goal within the penalty box (one of Leicester’s shots being blocked).
The chances created also tell a story, with Palace producing eight to Leicester’s six. When looking at these, however, the only two to be played into the box by Palace were from corners. For the Foxes, the only chance played in to the box was the assist provided by Mahrez for Vardy’s goal, a direct result from Hangeland’s error in the back-half.
Vardy’s work-rate was rewarded
On what was a tough day for the strikers, Vardy was all over the pitch and was still trying to impose himself on the contest. In comparison to his opposite number Campbell, he was a much more significant presence over the pitch. Vardy completed 20 passes to Campbell’s eight and took three shots to the Eagles hitman’s zero.
Cabaye curtailed
While the statistics will show that Yohan Cabaye completed 83% of his passes, the Frenchman was allowed to have little impact on proceedings at the KP stadium.
Cabaye was by no means poor, but his ability to unlock Leicester’s defence showed. Of his completed passes, the majority were sideways or backwards, with a large percentage of his forward passes failing to hit a target. Kante and Drinkwater were instrumental in nullifying Palace’s star man.
Conclusion
Of all the games that these two sides have played in this season, this is the most unlikely to feature in any post-season highlight reels.
But for an individual mistake near the hour mark, this game looked destined for a 0-0 result with both sides struggling to produce quality in possession. While Pardew will rue his side’s luck in this game, Palace did not create enough to consider themselves significantly hard done-by.
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