Ruud van Nistelrooy was left ruing one particular moment where Leicester City’s fortunes became more apparent than ever.
Leicester were beaten by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to leave them 19th in the Premier League table with just 10 games remaining and a six-point deficit between themselves and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Marc Cucurella’s second half goal was enough to break the resolves of the Foxes’ backline after Van Nistelrooy opted to change to a 5-3-2 formation.
The move benefitted the likes of James Justin, who impressed in the formation change as well as outcast Luke Thomas, who was one of the stars of the Foxes.
Defeat means it’s now been over 500 minutes since Van Nistelrooy’s club have scored a goal but things could’ve been different on another day.
Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
Ruud van Nistelrooy picks out Leicester chance after penalty save
With the score at 0-0 in the first half, it seemingly looked like the Foxes were going to fall behind after Victor Kristiansen fouled Jadon Sancho.
Mads Hermansen ended Cole Palmer’s 100 per cent penalty record with a brilliant save and just moments later the Foxes had the chance to take the lead.
In the end, a cross into the box was deflected onto the Chelsea crossbar by Tosin and the Leicester manager felt that was a moment that altered the course of the game.
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He told the official Leicester website: “That is the phase that we are in.
“Hermansen saves the pen and then on the other side we can go 1-0 up with a possible own goal or a deflection on the crossbar that lands for one of us and just tap it in. That could have been a moment which changed the momentum, but it will come.
“I’m frustrated and disappointed because the players deserved more today with the effort and the spirit and the quality that they played with on and off the ball as a group. The players who came on did their job. It was an excellent performance in all aspects of the game.”
Chelsea vs Leicester stats show Leicester deserved nothing
Although the performance was much-improved in comparison to the Brentford and West Ham United games, it was still a very dominant performance for the hosts.
Chelsea Stats Leicester City
20 Shots 3
7 Shots on target 3
57% Possession 43%
1.78 Expected Goals (xG) 0.10
12 Corners 2
At one stage, Leicester went over 30 minutes without registering a shot on goal and had less than a quarter of attempts in comparison to Chelsea.
The expected goals also show that it was another toothless display from an attacking perspective and despite trying to offer a positive outlook, it wasn’t as great as it seemed.