analyzing Abdul Fatawu’s red card, Leicester City’s performance with 10 men, Maresca’s substitutions, and his post-match remarks as we discuss key points from the team’s 3-1 loss to Coventry City.
Before referee Darren England had even reached into his pocket, Wout Faes put his head in his hands. The Belgian defender saw Abdul Fatawu fly in and understood immediately that his young Leicester City teammate would be in trouble.
Faes also had a stronger personal stake in Fatawu’s outcome. Faes praised the Ghanaian after he had performed admirably to win a back-post header earlier in the half, but he then put two hands on the winger’s face. Exasperated by losing free kicks, Fatawu was ready to go after the player who had fouled him, possibly preparing a scathing remark for him. Faes stepped in, gave the boy a pep talk, and met his gaze directly.
It didn’t work, Fatawu was gone to the atmosphere. His challenge was not very strong, but it was delivered very late and with too much force. He had lost all control. All that is necessary for a referee to determine that a tackle is risky and should be called back.
That was the turning point in the game. When it came to 11 vs 11, City wasn’t always the superior team. However, they also use possession and movement to wear down opponents, becoming stronger as the game progresses. This season, it has been common to watch City struggle to make much progress in the first half before destroying opposition in the second.
There’s no guarantee that would have happened against Coventry had Fatawu stayed on. Not only are the Sky Blues a good side, but they’re in form and were backed by a noisy crowd. But there was very little chance of it happening once they were a man down.
City may be the best team in the league, but it doesn’t mean they are good enough to win with 10 men. Their gameplan is one that requires all 11 positions to be filled. The tactic’s success is dependent on domination of the ball, but City had just 25 per cent possession in the second half. They didn’t get to play how they wanted to. Given the disruption it caused to City’s style of play, it was the game’s key moment.
It was a silly challenge to make by Fatawu. And it’s not the first time. He is keen to impress and that has led to rash challenges throughout the campaign, ones he’s gotten away with before now.
Faes’ warning came too late. Perhaps Enzo Maresca needed to have a word with Fatawu after he escaped without punishment against Hull and Birmingham. But neither do you want to dim his enthusiasm. And maybe he needed this moment, with the knowledge that his decision had a major impact on City’s result, to learn a lesson and figure out how to control his energy better.
In a wider context, the red card means the bonus City were afforded at the start of the month when Fatawu was left out of Ghana’s Africa Cup of Nations squad is now pretty much wiped out. He’ll miss the next three games, meaning he won’t play again until February. It’s the equivalent of him heading to Afcon and Ghana getting knocked out in the round of 16.
It was the first time he has received a red card in a senior match, and the first time Maresca has had to play with 10 men as City boss. After losing a derby, both will be desperate for it not to happen again.
City did well with 10 – but Coventry wanted it more
But while the red card disrupted City’s gameplan and style, they very nearly made it out of Coventry with a result. For large parts of the second half, they defended well.
They were camped in initially, but by the hour mark, they had settled into a more comfortable position. They were managing the ball well enough to keep Coventry at arm’s length. In fact, when Callum O’Hare scored the equaliser, it was with the hosts’ first shot for 18 minutes.
In the end, the shot counts for each half were exactly the same, seven to four in Coventry’s favour. It shows that, in attempting to see out victory, City didn’t do a bad job. But it perhaps equally shows that they weren’t at the top of their game in the first half, when they did have their full complement of players.
After the basketball of the first 10 minutes, during which Tatsuhiro Sakamoto hit the post, City settled. They started to produce a recognisable Maresca performance, but not a vintage one. They had solid spells of possession in decent areas, but could not match the threat that Coventry posed.
Even when City created their one and only good chance prior to the penalty, Cesare Casadei sliding a shot wide, Coventry had an even bigger opportunity just moments later. They were fortunate O’Hare sliced his effort out for a throw-in.
In all of the aspects that are difficult to quantify, like determination, energy, and desire, City seemed a couple of per cent down on where Coventry were. It felt like it mattered more to the home side, or as if City felt they could win without being at their best.
That was the slight disappointment, even before the red card. On the balance of the whole 90 minutes, the home side were deserved winners.
Maresca’s subs right in theory with manager’s options limited
When that is the case, there will be questions over whether the manager could have done anything differently to help his team’s cause. This time, Maresca’s substitutions have come into focus.
He only made two. The first saw Stephy Mavididi withdrawn at half-time, with Kasey McAteer coming on. Given how electric Mavididi has been on the counter-attack over the past month, and given City were likely to be forced into playing that way as Coventry pushed, should he have not stayed on?
There is an argument for that, but equally, Maresca clearly felt he needed to adjust the shape so that City were sat back in a 5-3-1 formation out of possession, and as Mavididi only plays on the left, that would have meant switching James Justin to the right and making Mavididi the left wing-back, putting him up against the twin threat of Sakamoto and Milan van Ewijk. If Justin was struggling against them, Mavididi definitely would have done.
Plus, Mavididi had been poor by his recent standards in the first half. So bringing on McAteer and using his energy and work-rate to help the defensive effort on the right but also to provide an outlet going forward made sense.
The second substitute did not arrive until the equaliser had been scored, Maresca replacing Tom Cannon with Hamza Choudhury. Taking off the only striker and replacing him with a defensive midfielder seemed negative, but Maresca was limited in what he could do.
Cannon had grown tired from chasing shadows for the whole of the second half. He was visibly fatigued and was no longer able to hold the ball up, chase lost causes, or put pressure on Coventry’s deepest players and slow down their attacks. There was no striker on the bench to call on, so McAteer was the best bet for that role, the winger able to at least bring energy and an attacking instinct.
That saw Justin switch to the right and Choudhury take over on the left. Perhaps that was with Justin tiring, and with fresh legs needed to combat where Coventry were at their most threatening. Choudhury, with extra pace and aggression to deal with one-on-ones, was probably the right call for that job, rather than a more natural left-sided defender in Callum Doyle, whose attributes lie in his passing.
So on paper, the changes made sense. In practice, they were detrimental. McAteer was lost up front, failing to impact the game. Choudhury was confused too, not knowing who to mark and when, allowing Coventry even greater freedom on their right.
There is an argument too that more changes should have been made to raise the energy levels. But who could have come on? Maybe Dennis Praet for Casadei, but the Belgian is unlikely to be up to speed after a few weeks out with injury. Yunus Akgun could have brought energy, but he is perhaps too lightweight for the battle City were in at that point. Could a gamble have been taken on Marc Albrighton playing centrally?
In truth, Maresca didn’t have the players available to make effective changes and stop Coventry from building momentum. He was limited in what he could do, and it showed in the final 10 minutes.
Maresca’s hint at shadowy forces shows defeat hurts
Maresca is not usually a sore loser. After previous defeats, he’s been anywhere from reflective to jovial, but never petty.
But while he expressed his pride at how his 10 men had performed at Coventry, he was also irked. He was particularly frustrated that Kasey Palmer avoided a second yellow card for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall as he tried to break. The moment came when City were winning 1-0, around three minutes before Coventry got the first of their goals.
Maresca was infuriated at the time, and his choice of words on the touchline earned him a yellow card that will mean he is banned from being in his dugout against Ipswich. After the game, he seemed to suggest it was something more sinister than just a dodgy decision.
City’s relentless winning run had “annoyed” people, Maresca said. When asked which people, he wouldn’t expand. But his gripes were with the referee on Saturday and at Ipswich on Boxing Day, when Dewsbury-Hall was denied a penalty. Maresca noted that both games were live on Sky Sports.
He seemed to be implying that shadowy forces were at work, as if the referees and Sky were conspiring against City to bring them down a peg. City’s winning run had seen them threaten to run away with the Championship and the authorities wanted to ensure there was still some drama to be had, and so that meant decisions had to go against Maresca and his players.
Of course, that is all rubbish. The Palmer incident was just a debatable decision that could have gone City’s way, but didn’t. Every club is on the wrong end of a few calls like that each season.
But perhaps what Maresca’s choice of words do show is that he really cares about derby matches. He seemed far more upset on Saturday than when City lost to Leeds and Middlesbrough.
“As a player, I loved the environment when there is a derby,” he said in his pre-match press conference. It’s true. Back in Italy, he’s still remembered for how he taunted Torino fans when he scored for Juventus in the Turin derby.
So it seemed like Saturday’s defeat mattered to Maresca. He’s embodying what it means to be a City supporter, which can only be a good thing.
City had not lost since the middle of November, when they ultimately suffered two consecutive losses. With any luck, City will improve as a result of that experience to make sure they don’t lose back-to-back games.
Ipswich, Southampton, and Leeds all won on a terrible weekend, and although City still has a huge cushion, another one like that will make some people uncomfortably glance over their shoulder.
Next Monday, there will be a massive game at King Power Stadium when Ipswich visits. If the players weren’t eager to get back to winning ways, it would be shocking. All they have to do is remember to remain composed this time.
