Leicester City suffered their first defeat under Ruud van Nistelrooy as the Foxes were beaten 4-0 by Newcastle United.
The hosts were dominant from start to finish as Leicester barely laid a finger on the Magpies and are now only two points clear of the bottom three.
There were plenty of disappointing performances from a number of Leicester players and what was most evident was that the Foxes are missing one of their key stars.
Oliver Skipp of Leicester City and team mates look dejected when going 4 down during the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Leice...
Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Boubakary Soumare was a huge miss for Leicester City
It’s almost inconceivable to think that Boubakary Soumare would be missed when not playing, but given his turnaround in form, his absence was obvious to see.
Missing through suspension, Oliver Skipp and Hamza Choudhury started in the midfield as Wilfred Ndidi and Harry Winks were also unavailable.
His replacements didn’t set the world alight though as Skipp and Choudhury failed to make a tackle until the 60th minute and couldn’t get near their opposition counterparts.
Boubakary Soumare of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Leicester City FC and West Ham United FC at The King Power Stadium on D...
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Since Soumare was reintroduced to the side the midfield has looked far more balanced and composed.
MORE LEICESTER STORIES
His physical presence and calming presence on the ball is a far cry from what was witness at St James’ Park, with Skipp and Choudhury both giving the ball away numerous times, as well as looking a yard off the pace.
Had the Frenchman been available. then maybe the result would’ve been different.
When will Boubakary Soumare return for Leicester City?
Thanfkully for Van Nistelrooy and Leicester fans, Soumare won’t be out for much longer and will be back in contention for next week’s home game against Wolves.
Due to picking up a fifth yellow card of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion, the £17m star was forced to miss Saturday’s defeat as per Premier League rules.
Boubakary Soumare stats 24/25 season
Games played – 9
Pass completion rate – 87%
Tackles per game – 1.3
Ground duels won – 57%
Aerial duels won – 75%
Sofascore rating – 6.57
Van Nistelrooy will almost certainly restore him to the starting XI and he will be a welcome return for the Foxes and one that nobody could’ve foreseen coming/
Related Posts