4 Reasons Why Leicester City Will Finish In The Top Four
From a side who were struggling to get into top 10 in the table, Brendan Rodgers took over Leicester City in February 2019, and now, in under 9 months, he has taken this mid-table Leicester side into top-four contention, if not title contenders.
A brief rewind, taking us back to how Leicester City's late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's changed the club's fortunes. His investments into the squad were eventually fruitful in the year 2015-16, when Leicester City won the Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri, one of the best underdog stories in the history of football. On 26th of December in 2018, Vichai lost his life in a helicopter crash, and one year later on the same day in 2019, Leicester City paid tribute to their former chairman with a blistering 9-0 win over Southampton.
In that title-winning season, the Foxes were on 25 points after 12 games, while they're on 26 points this year, after the same number of games. Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, one of Mr.Vichai's children, is the current chairman of Leicester City FC. The 34-year-old would have taken plenty of tough decisions since his father passed away, and the best of it has to be the appointment of former Celtic coach Brendan Rodgers.
Known for his brilliance in offensive football, Rodgers has successfully implemented his philosophy on the squad within a short time-span, and the former Liverpool manager has developed the winning mentality in the players he works with now. They play like a big team, they're aiming for big things and they do not see themselves as a mid-table team; a mentality which sounds easy to generate but is certainly not.
With Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham struggling to perform on a consistent basis, Leicester City have shown that they have the firepower to take on the big dogs in the Premier League, and hence, let's look at the four reasons why Leicester City could surprise everyone and finish the season in the top four, entering back into Europe's most coveted competition, next season.
#4 Immense attacking prowess
The trio of Jamie Vardy, James Maddison, and Youri Tielemans have run riot against every team they have faced this season. In the 12 games played, Leicester City has scored goals in 10 of them; a total of 29 goals, 1 more than Liverpool. Their link-up play, movements inside the box, and passing in triangles is a treat to watch. Not to take away anything from their wide wingers in Ayoze Perez and Harvey Barnes, who stretch the opposition defense to create space for Vardy and Co. in between the lines.
Fun fact about Vardy, he took 24 games to score 11 goals last season. The 32-year-old has done it in just 12 games this term, which just goes to show how important Rodgers' free-flowing system has been in Vardy's incredible form this year in the league.
James Maddison is the one who has arguably stood out as much as Vardy under Brendan Rodgers, as the playmaker has taken his game to another level. He has been involved in 6 goals this season, which includes two absolute screamers against Tottenham and Arsenal as well as what could've been a decisive goal at Anfield, if not for James Milner. Buyers would be plenty for the young Englishman to come next summer, but the Foxes might have the financial strength to tie him down if they get into the Champions League next year.
In conclusion, Leicester City hasn't been overly reliant on any player for goals or assists, as every forward in the line up have contributed in some way or the other, which is the reason why this attacking unit has been consistently performing.
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