Matchday Live Talking Points: Defensively Solid & City’s Bouncebackability
- Leicester City’s 2-0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur is analysed by LCFC Radio’s Matchday Live guests
- Tony Cottee, Matt Elliott and Gerry Taggart reflected on the success in north London
- The Blue Army were able to listen to live coverage of the match on LCFC Radio
Toby Alderweireld’s own goal added to Jamie Vardy’s first-half spot-kick as City claimed their ninth Premier League victory of 2020/21, with two thirds of those triumphs coming away from home.
On summariser duties at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was former City striker Tony Cottee, while ex-Foxes stalwarts Matt Elliott and Gerry Taggart also joined Dan Bates live on air to dissect the victory in north London.
Defensively solid
Gerry Taggart said: “It’s a fantastic result and performance. Leicester really cruised to that victory. It was poor performance from Tottenham, but take nothing away from Leicester. They could have won it by three or four. If James Maddison’s goal had of stuck, it would have been right up there. They looked solid defensively and the ‘keeper (Kasper Schmeichel) made another great save when he was called into action.”
Another fine achievement
Matt Elliott said: “I think the game at Etihad Stadium, that was the first time the back three had been deployed and it was a conscious change of approach from Leicester City. People were a little bit sceptical about it at first, but there was more to it than that, as we saw. They’ve taken that to different levels, really, as they’ve gone on through the season. First against Arsenal and Leeds, and now against Tottenham. They’ve got another fine achievement under their belts.”
A really good team performance
Tony Cottee said: “Apart from that, I think I’m on about four or five wins when I’ve come and commentated, so I obviously need to do a few more games! It was a really good team performance at Arsenal, and this was just as good. If you put it into context, you’re coming to a team that’s got genuine desires to do well in the Premier League. It was an outstanding performance and they dominated possession in the first half.”
A scrambled second half
Matt Elliott said: “The relative ease that Leicester won that game with, that was the surprising element. You could see maybe the game having that pattern before anyone scores. In the second half, it just seemed scrambled. [Kasper] Schmeichel made a good save, and Jamie Vardy stayed in on set-plays, which could have been a problem for them on some occasions, but in general play, the back four were relatively untroubled.”
Comfortable City
Tony Cottee said: “In the second half, you’re thinking that Spurs will surely come out all guns blazing and take the game to Leicester, but apart from a couple of instances, they didn’t really have any answers. Never at any time did I think Spurs would kick on and win the game. Leicester looked really comfortable. It was hard for me to pick the Man of the Match, because it was such a good performance.”
Leicester’s bouncebackability
Gerry Taggart said: “Every time they get knocked down, they get back up, and they swing back and put their opponents on the ground. That’s exactly what happened today. When you have the ability to keep swinging back when you’ve been put down, then that’s a really good sign for Brendan [Rodgers] and all his lads.”