A woeful Leicester City managed to get themselves humiliatingly eliminated from the First Round of the English Football League Cup against League One opposition on Wednesday night.
We will call out the King Power players who supposedly let the side down at Accu Stadium midweek. LCFC boss Marti Cifuentes opted to shuffle his starting lineup considerably.
And that didn’t help at all! The former Queens Park Rangers head coach was far from impressed by what he witnessed from his Foxes in the Carabao Cup. Let’s identify who stood out for the wrong reasons and what the Catalan tactician got wrong. Not to mention what the squad can do to set things right next time.
Marti Cifuentes was dissatisfied with the Foxes’ League Cup display:
City have been knocked out of the lower-tier domestic competition. But the LCFC supporters would have relished a run in the tournament. That journey could well have offered more young prospects, such as debutant Louis Page, extra game time and development chances.
Cifuentes was frustrated after the game. He admitted that his men “should have done better”. Losing in a penalty shootout is something of a gamble, to be fair. Although the manager is essentially referring to the actual 90 minutes of play. The East Midlanders should be able to overcome this type of opposition.
Particularly referencing the first half, Cifuentes was “disappointed in the performance, disappointed obviously in the final score”.
These Leicester City players underperformed against Huddersfield Town:
First of all, three City players failed to convert their penalties: Jordan Ayew, Bilal El Khannouss and Kasey McAteer. Though they can be forgiven in my opinion.
“Will Alves: He would hope to have performed better given the long wait for his first City start. He didn’t do much wrong, but he looked lost in the midfield, and so didn’t get to show off his talent often. 5” (Leicester Mercury).
Ben Nelson received the lowest mark for a starter from Leicester Mercury (4) for a poor showing. Meanwhile, Hamza Choudhury, Boubakary Soumare, Oliver Skipp, Will Alves, McAteer and Patson Daka all received subpar 5 ratings. Ayew, a substitute, also scored a 4.
“Ben Nelson: He had a torrid first half in which he could not sort his feet. He was fortunate not to concede two penalties, while he also lost possession in his own half for another big Huddersfield chance. He did get better in the second half though. 4”