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Credit: Leicester City FC
The Foxes are closing in on the top of the table with Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans playing a vital role in Leicester’s recent run.
Fofana joined the East Midlands club from Ligue 1 side St-Etienne in October 2020 and has formed a fantastic partnership with Evans at the heart of the defence.
The determination of the £31.5 million signing has seen him become an instant success in Leicester as he slotted straight in the centre-back position after Caglar Soyuncu’s injury kept the Turkish defender out of the squad. Since his return, the defender has had no chance to regain his place as the Fofana x Evans partnership has yielded such strong results.
Brendan Rodgers has given the right balance to his central duo with the French defender’s inexperience countered by an experienced head like Jonny Evans.
The 20-year-old only played one full season for St-Etienne before making the switch to England and has adapted to the game very quickly.
Evans, who is now 33, has played over 300 games in the Premier League and is a strong leader in the Leicester backline.
Leicester faced Chelsea at the King Power Stadium yesterday evening in what was an important encounter for both sides.
With a victory, the Foxes would go top of the Premier League temporarily. Frank Lampard’s men also needed a result as they looked to ease the pressure surrounding their manager.
It only took six minutes for Rodgers’ men to make it 1-0. A corner routine between James Maddison and Marc Albrighton saw the latter cross the ball into the penalty area.
Harvey Barnes missed the ball which fell for Wilfred Ndidi with the midfielder firing a speculative effort towards goal. The ball hit the post and flew past Edouard Mendy to give the Foxes the opener.
To confirm their dominance, Leicester went 2-0 up with four minutes remaining in the opening 45 minutes. A great move saw Albrighton cross the ball into Jamie Vardy, before an onrushing Maddison drifted into the box unmarked to pick up the scraps and slot the ball past Mendy.
Just minutes prior to the second goal, the only mistake from the centre-back partnership in the first half occurred.
Dribbling through the Foxes backline, Christian Pulisic drew a challenge from Evans which Craig Pawson saw as a penalty.
The 33-year-old looked shocked with Pawson’s decision as he looked to have made a costly mistake. VAR overturned the referee’s decision and gave it as a free-kick right on the edge of the box which was seen by the experienced defender as a huge let off.
In the second-half, Tammy Abraham looked to have Chelsea’s first chance in the opening ten minutes. The forward looked to fire his shot goalwards but was denied by a fantastic block from Fofana with the defender serving his duties and keeping the tall striker at bay.
It was then the French defender’s turn to make a mistake in the closing stages of the match. Pulisic looked to drive at goal with his sheer pace and determination to deliver something for his side. He came up against a few Leicester players but it was Fofana that stuck a leg out and fouled the American earning himself a yellow card in the process.
Fofana made the most clearances in the match with seven as the young defender was on top of his game and kept the lacking Chelsea front line at bay.
Evans on other hand made the most interceptions with five as he was the first line of defence with Fofana most of the time covering the centre-back when being attacked as the 20-year-old is quite a bit faster than the veteran defender.
This result sees Leicester to go second in the Premier League after Manchester City’s victory over Aston Villa.
The Foxes travel to Brentford in their next match with a chance to progress into the next round of the FA Cup with the Blues also in FA Cup action this weekend as they host Championship side Luton Town at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
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