Sunday 28 February 2016 12:07, UK
Leicester moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to Leonardo Ulloa's dramatic late winner against Norwich, but did the Canaries reveal the formula for stopping them? Nick Wright examines Alex Neil's approach…
Leicester's astonishing success this season has been built on sound defensive organisation, rapid counter-attacking and lethal finishing, with Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham among the long list of clubs to have fallen victim to their simple but effective style.
Norwich became the eighth team to leave the King Power Stadium empty-handed on Saturday, but few sides have made life so difficult for Claudio Ranieri's men. For 89 minutes, the Canaries were good value for a point, and they might have even had all three had it not been for the profligacy of Cameron Jerome, who spurned two clear chances in the first half.
Alex Neil had certainly done his homework. "There have been teams in the league that have got points off them," he said in the build-up to the game. "We have been watching a lot of footage of teams who have played against them this season to see how they went about it. We have a plan so we will see how it goes."
Neil's plan centred on a change of formation. Knowing that Leicester favour a narrow approach, the Norwich boss deployed three central defenders, with Ivo Pinto and Robbie Brady as wing-backs. After their 2-1 defeat by Manchester City in October, it was only the second time all season they have started with three at the back.
"They came out with a back three that became a back five when they didn't have the ball," said Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas in the Soccer Saturday studio. "They had four in midfield and stuck one up front, who was Cameron Jerome, to try to pull their centre-backs around whenever they could."
Norwich stopped Leicester from playing the way they like, with centre-backs Ryan Bennett, Russell Martin and Timm Klose sitting deep and forming a formidable shield directly in front of their goal.
The cautious approach negated the considerable threat of Jamie Vardy's pace, and on the one occasion the Leicester striker did manage to get in behind Norwich's defence shortly after half-time, John Ruddy was alert to charge out of his box and make the clearance.
"We've got to give credit to Norwich," added Nicholas. "It's not that Leicester played poorly, it's just that Norwich suffocated them a little bit." Ranieri admitted as much in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, saying: "It was a difficult match. Norwich played very, very compact, and in a defensive way."
Unlike their title rivals, Leicester are more comfortable when they don't have the ball. Their gameplan is geared towards stealing possession and instantly launching attacks to catch their opposition out of position, so it's therefore little surprise they rank 18th in the Premier League for possession, 19th for successful passes and bottom for passing accuracy.
With that in mind, Norwich deliberately ceded possession to the hosts, and Leicester consequently had 58.8 per cent of the ball, by far their highest rate of the season and well above their average of 41 per cent. They found themselves in the unfamiliar position of having to break down a packed defence, and their struggle was summed up by the fact they didn't muster a shot on target until the 58th minute.
As for Norwich's approach with the ball, there were clues in Neil's pre-match comments. "Counter-attacking is their strength," he said of Leicester. "But your greatest strength can sometimes be your biggest weakness. We will see if we can catch them out high enough up the pitch to punish them on the break, just like they do to so many teams."
Leicester were clearly unsettled by a taste of their own medicine in the first half, and Norwich's counter-attacking should have resulted in an opening goal inside 10 minutes. Nathan Redmond's pace created an excellent chance for Jerome, but the striker dithered when one-on-one with Kasper Schmeichel and the Leicester goalkeeper was able to clear.
In the end, Norwich's good work was undone by a momentary lapse, with Marc Albrighton given space to cross from the right flank for Ulloa to finish at the far post. "It's really disappointing for the players after the amount of effort they put in," Neil told Sky Sports. "I thought our gameplan, the way the players went about it and the way we performed was all you could expect from us."
Ulloa's winner rewarded Leicester's unwavering persistence, but with games against West Brom, Watford and Newcastle to come, there could be similar challenges ahead. "This is the difference that they're going to find," said Nicholas. "I'd be surprised if West Brom don't come and do a similar thing and just sit in, be strong defensively, and don't leave any space in [behind]."
Norwich's approach will not have gone unnoticed by the rest of the Premier League. How Leicester adapt could be key.
