Leicester City gave a valiant effort to halt Manchester City in the League Cup Quarter Final. Yet it wasn’t to be as Puel’s star players, Vardy then Mahrez misfired from the penalty spot.
Manchester City have won a staggering 19 domestic games in succession. Claude Puel’s Leicester City came very close to ending that run yesterday: well, two or three kicks away is as close as any other team this season!
The game finished one-all after the visitors went ahead through neat play from Ilkay Gundogan combining with Bernardo Silva who tucked away the ball through Ben Hamer’s legs. Jamie Vardy equalised from the spot when Demarai Gray was felled rather lightly in the box.
Extra time provided ample chances for both teams to end the fixture, although no one stepped up with clinical finishing. So at 4-3 to The Sky Blues, Vardy steps up, Leicester’s usual penalty taker looked confident as ever as he strode forward.
Penalties at the King Power
The crowd sounded surprised as Vardy’s shot hit the post on its way past the goal. Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo had it covered well anyway. The Leicester supporters groaned at Riyad Mahrez’s kick next, his stutter step making for a weak penalty easily saved by Bravo.
Naturally it was extremely surprising for your current and previous club penalty takers to both miss at a crucial point in a quarter final. A disappointment really. However, Puel took Southampton to the final last season then was sacked for his troubles so he must have mixed feelings.
Should Puel have rested players?
Claude Puel introduced seven alterations to his starting side. Vardy along with Mahrez was assigned to the bench. Whilst expert “stopper”, Kasper Schmeichel, wasn’t even among the substitutes.
"“It’s a disappointment. But I have no regrets about our players, our game. All the players gave their best.”"
Many of the Midlands club’s fans shared a similar opinion after the game: this was a real chance to qualify for Europe while lifting a cup at Wembley, as I’ll explain. This was echoed by club legend Gary Lineker as he questioned Puel’s tactics on Twitter:
Don’t get why Leicester are playing a 2nd string team. QF and a chance to win a trophy. 8th in the league, no Europe and no chance of going down. Get it with Manchester City, but Leicester? 🤷🏻♂️
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 19, 2017
How are the semi finals shaping up?
While Manchester United lost to the Impressive Championship outfit Bristol City, Chelsea concurrently beat Bournemouth. This being said, it is likely that it’ll be an all Premier League line-up in the final.
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All four clubs will relish the chance at automatic qualification to the Europa League, especially Bristol. It also provides the top clubs an opportunity to get one over on a rival for silverware whilst gaining vital momentum.
If Manchester City name a comparably weakened side, the other three may have pre-emptively counteracted against this by naming their “best 11” or a more experienced team.
Can The Sky Blues win all four trophies?
Manchester City have the special situation of being able to win all four trophies for which they compete. Of course they could still be stopped in the league. This is difficult as they have an 11 point lead already over their closest rivals, in every sense, Manchester United.
The Citizens have the depth of squad. Not to mention quality youth arriving on time. There is maintained camaraderie on the field as well as off. The vision of a footballing genius at the helm, and all the money in the world to improve in January too. In other words, they could win all four. Exciting times.
Foden and Zinchenko predictions
Pep Guardiola must have read Playing For 90’s article on Tuesday, suggesting he play two Impressive youngsters against Leicester. Fielding both highly rated youth players was a shrewd move, as Phil Foden and Oleksandr Zinchenko did well indeed. The latter was even named “Man of the Match” by Sky Sports. Claude Puel generally gave the nod to experience, albeit reserve players as opposed to youth.
Could Leicester qualify for the Europa League elsewhere?
Yes, is the answer, the Foxes could technically even still make the Champions League. Although it is very unlikely they will finish as high as fourth in the Premier League. Puel finished eighth with The Saints last time out so has the tools along with expertise to succeed here for The Foxes.
Next: City plotting move for Zaha
They can enter the Europa League by finishing fifth in the league or winning the FA Cup. Qualification if the FA Cup winner finishes in the top five of the league is also possible.
Similarly, if the League Cup winner also finishes in the top six, then Leicester could gain entrance to the Europa league via a seventh place finish.