Leicester City vs. Tottenham: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Leicester City remained unbeaten in the Premier League after they drew 1-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur, who have yet to win a game three weeks into the season.
An end-to-end start to the match didn't yield too many clear-cut chances before the heat appeared to stifle the tempo of the game, but late on there was plenty of drama. Substitute Dele Alli scored for Spurs from two yards out, and then Riyad Mahrez went straight up the other end to equalise within a minute. Both teams had late chances to win it, but a draw was a fair result.
Here are our winners and losers from the game at the KP Stadium.
Winner: Riyad Mahrez
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Leicester City's top man right now is right-side attacker Riyad Mahrez.
The pacy outlet was the biggest danger early on in the game with his driving runs down the channel and willingness to cut infield, while his deliveries from wide—in open play and on set pieces—were both largely impressive.
Of course, his biggest contribution came immediately after Tottenham had taken the lead, when he went straight up the other end to net a strike of his own and seal a point for the Foxes. Boss Claudio Ranieri was pleased with Mahrez's contribution, per Chris Bevan of BBC Sport:
"I am happy," he said. "My players have a fantastic spirit. It was an outstanding goal, and Riyad Mahrez is a very good player.
"It is important to maintain our place in the Premier League. Seven points, 33 less, that is important for us."
Loser: Jan Vertonghen
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While Toby Alderweireld has had a largely steady start to life at the heart of Spurs' defence, partner and fellow Belgian Jan Vertonghen has been decidedly mixed. His performance against Leicester was uncertain to begin with and didn't get much better.
Bested in one-on-ones, making poor clearances from the first minute onward and eventually beaten much too easily on Riyad Mahrez's equaliser, Vertonghen needed to be far more dominant and consistent with his defensive work. He was also lucky not to concede a penalty in the first half.
Technically he has plenty of quality, but he's not in a great moment and must work harder to get out of this slump.
Mauricio Pochettino was disappointed with his team's focus after losing another lead and wants to see improvement in that regard, as he told BBC Sport:
"We need to work hard to be more focused and more aggressive after we score," he said. "... We need to keep working and work harder and try to fix the problem that we had in the last minutes today. ... I am angry, but I am the first who made a mistake, and the mistake that we made today is difficult to explain.
"I think that we've played much better...than the points that we have, but this is football. Our expectations are big. We are happy with the way that we played—the only thing that we need to fix is to try to compete better, and we need to understand that the game is over when the [referee blows the whistle]."
Getting his central defenders both on the same page in that regard would be a wise starting point.
Winners: Drinkwater and King
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Leicester dominated the centre of midfield; in the early stages it was with the ball, and from the 20-minute mark for a good hour afterward it was in closing out spaces, keeping Tottenham turned back away from goal and not letting any penetrative passes be played.
The work rate and composure in possession from Danny Drinkwater and Andy King was exceptional, with both turning away from multiple opponents to keep the ball as well as making challenges, closing down and covering the channels with regularity.
Leicester's 4-4-2 demands intense work rate and clever positioning from the front six players, and these two in central midfield certainly gave them that—and Gokhan Inler had a positive impact off the bench late on, too.
Losers: Chadli and Dembele
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From our report on the opening day in Spurs' loss to Manchester United:
"Getting the ball to Kane isn't the problem; it's what happens next. The forward plays outside the area but has nobody to feed play into and run off, nobody bursting beyond him with regularity and little in the way of support inside the penalty area to attack crosses."
Fast-forward two league games and the same problems are still hugely apparent for Spurs. Mousa Dembele and Nacer Chadli showed a few nice touches, the former especially, but neither got into the box, beyond Harry Kane or caused the centre-backs problems, despite continually running infield.
Erik Lamela was handed a chance but also failed to impress—it's notable that young sub Dele Alli scored his goal from a high, driving run through the penalty box. The more senior attacking midfielders should take note.
Winner: Claudio Ranieri
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Leicester City's boss wasn't met with approval by all when he joined in summer, but he has done a fantastic job so far with two wins and a draw.
His ambitious, exciting side look quick to attack at any point and are very hard-working and well-organised. The two lines are difficult to break down as one striker drops back into midfield, and importantly, they look to have options on the bench who can come on and affect matches positively.
Claudio Ranieri will be delighted to have remained unbeaten so far, and Foxes fans can be optimistic that this term's survival should be far more straightforward than last year's.
