Season Review: Historic campaign for Leicester City

Leicester City’s 2020/21 season has came to a close and on the whole, it has been a successful one for the East Midlands outfit.

The Foxes celebrated an FA Cup victory for the first time in the club’s history but failed to achieve their goal of a top four finish for a second successive season.

Brendan Rodgers’ side looked destined for Champions League football next season after a dominant start to the campaign. They thrived at the back end of 2020 but ran out of gas in the final month.

Leicester were dominant on the road, picking up 38 points from a possible 57. But, fragility at home took its toll, eventually dropping Leicester out of the top four and into the Europa League for a second time in two years.

Key moments

27 September 2020 – Manchester City 2-5 Leicester City

In game week three, the Foxes ran riot at the Etihad Stadium. Despite 28.3% ball possession, Leicester reverted to their previous personnel of counter attacking football and it worked a treat.

Jamie Vardy fired two penalties and an audacious front-post flick to punish City’s wasted chances.

Goals from midfield maestros James Maddison and Youri Tielemans also rubbed salt into the wounds of the champions. It was a huge statement from Leicester and a perfect mark of authority early on in the season.

19 January 2021 – Leicester City 2-0 Chelsea

Continuing their phenomenal unbeaten record from December 2020, the Foxes moved to the summit of the Premier League in January courtesy of a Wilfred Ndidi screamer and Maddison’s half-volley against Chelsea.

Leicester’s intuitive corner-kick allowed Ndidi to lash home from outside of the box. From then on, the hosts dominated proceedings and limited Chelsea to half chances.

Summer signing Wesley Fofana flourished and James Justin continued to impress following a sequence of sublime performances at both left-back and right-back. 

13 February 2021 – Leicester City 3-1 Liverpool

At the time, Liverpool were mistake prone and Leicester took full advantage. Mohamed Salah put the Reds in front but the Foxes ran rampant against an injury stricken Liverpool defence in the final 15 minutes.

Maddison scored his 10th goal of the season with a whipped free-kick from the left-hand side of the box and Vardy completed the turn around by capitalising on an Alisson blunder three minutes later.

Harvey Barnes wrapped up the game with a trademark right footed finish, bending the ball into the bottom right.

It was the perfect response to the 3-0 loss in the reverse fixture earlier on in the campaign.

7 May 2021 – Leicester City 2-4 Newcastle United

Leicester’s draw against Southampton in the previous game week was a hammer blow, and the result against Newcastle put Champions League aspirations in serious jeopardy.

They went 4-0 down to the Magpies but grabbed two late goals through Marc Albrighton and Kelechi Iheanacho.

The outcome allowed Liverpool and Chelsea to take advantage and close down the Foxes in the top four.

15 May 2021 – Chelsea 0-1 Leicester City – FA Cup Champions

In Leicester’s 137-year history, they’d never previously won the FA Cup. The Foxes reached four finals but failed to claim the trophy.

However, since the iconic Premier League winning campaign in 2016 and the appointment of manager Rodgers, Leicester have improved exponentially and are challenging for silverware against the traditional ‘big six’.

Youri Tielemans’ scintillating strike would prove the winner in the 63rd minute. The Belgium midfielder, who is in talks over a new contract at the King Power, let fly from 25-yards out and left Kepa Arrizabalaga helpless. The finish nestled into the top corner and left thousands of Leicester City fans going wild behind the goal.

Tielemans’ strike made the difference on the afternoon, but goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel’s heroics were Leicester’s saviour. Former Fox Ben Chilwell was convinced he got his side back into the game but VAR came to Leicester’s aid before Schmeichel brilliantly denied Mason Mount’s ferocious half-volley moments later.

It was Rodgers’ first trophy in English football after being triumphant seven times in Scotland with former team Celtic.

23 May 2021 – Leicester City 2-4 Tottenham Hotspur

The race for the top four came down to the final day, and Leicester relied on very specific circumstances to earn their Champions League spot. They needed to beat Spurs on the day while being reliant either Aston Villa or Crystal Palace to defeat their opponents in Chelsea and Liverpool.

At one point it was all going Leicester’s way. Vardy put the Foxes 2-1 to the good just before half-time courtesy of two exquisite penalties. Aston Villa were beating Chelsea, while Liverpool took the advantage against Palace, meaning Rodgers’ side remained in the top four with 45 minutes to go.

Nevertheless, Leicester’s capitulation began in the last 15 minutes of time. Schmeichel flapped at a Heung-Min Son corner to level the scoring and Gareth Bale bagged a brace to rub the salt into the wounds.

Liverpool and Chelsea’s recovery was outstanding. It epitomised how difficult it is to break into the Premier League’s top four. The pedigree of the ‘big six’ takes years to match therefore Leicester fans shouldn’t be too downhearted with the result on the final day.

Impact of new arrivals

Wesley Fofana

The Frenchman was a revelation in his first season in English football, and could even be a candidate for PFA Young Player of the Year.

Fofana racked up 34 appearances in all competitions in 2020/21, predominantly in a back three alongside Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu.

Despite being the tender age of 20, Fofana plays with maturity. On the ball he’s decisive and knows when to step in to midfield with the ball or play a simple pass.

The sky is the limit for the defender.

Timothy Castagne

The former Atalanta man has added integral squad depth to the team. He joined in the summer for a fee of £21.6m to replace Chilwell and has thrived on either flank. Not only has he played in his more comfortable position at wing-back, Castagne has slotted into the back three and can even do a job higher up the pitch as a wide midfielder.

Although the climax to Castagne’s season was stale, he played a huge part in the success at the start of the season and will be a force to be reckoned with in 2021/22.

Key players

Kelechi Iheanacho

The Nigerian was Leicester’s talisman throughout 2020/21. Iheanacho, known as ‘Seniorman Kelz’, bagged 19 goals and became the first ever player in Premier League history to score a goal on every single day of the week during a Premier League campaign.

Iheanacho revived his career at the King Power playing as a front two with strike partner Jamie Vardy. The duo started just eight times together last campaign and didn’t this year until 28 February. It worked a treat last season against the likes of Aston Villa, where Leicester battered the Villans 4-1 away from home, and has paid dividends in 2020/21 too. 

He has surpassed his expected goals (xG) in the Premier League. The Nigerian forward scored 12 in the division but averaged an xG of 7.8, exemplifying how prolific Iheanacho has been in front of goal.

Iheanacho picked up Leicester City’s goal of the season via his wonder strike against Crystal Palace to top off his best season in professional football.

Youri Tielemans

To no surprise, the Belgian architect picked up Leicester City’s Supporters Player of the Season award and Players’ Player of the Season. Tielemans played in every single Premier League game during 2020/21 and was one of the most consistent performers in the division.

The 24-year-old scored six goals and assisted four playing in a deeper role alongside Wilfred Ndidi. A threat in both boxes, Tielemans completed the season with 109 shot creating actions and the responsibility of set-pieces instead of Maddison.

His attacking prowess has improved as well as his decision making out of possession. Leicester City are in negotiations with a new deal for the midfielder although interest from the likes of Liverpool and PSG could steer the Belgian away from the East Midlands outfit post-Euros.

Jonny Evans

The Northern Irishman one of Leicester City’s unsung heroes. The defender is integral to Rodgers’ system and was an obvious miss in the final few games of the season after being sidelined with injury.

Season verdict

Regardless of dropping out of the top four on the final day, Leicester fans probably would’ve accepted an FA Cup success and European football again at the start of the season. They’ve met their expectations of battling with the ‘big six’ for a top four place and have now started to implement trophies.

Next season, the Foxes must achieve Champions League football by finishing in the top four or winning the Europa League in order to retain the likes of Maddison, Tielemans and Ndidi. They’ll be hunting for back-to-back silverware in the FA Cup but they’ll require a few more additions in the transfer windows in order to compete throughout an inevitable hectic 2021/22 campaign.

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