Leicester City slumped to a 4-2 defeat at home against Tottenham on the final matchday, which put an end to their Champions League dreams – falling to fifth place in the table. Jamie Vardy scored two penalties in both halves, but it wasn’t enough as Spurs scored three, with Harry Kane and Gareth Bale finding the scoresheet, add to it an own goal from Kasper Schmeichel. Here are the eight observations from the thrilling game.
Leicester blew their UCL chances for the second consecutive season
The Foxes looked on course to beat their top-four hoodoo after what turned out to be an impressive campaign. Nonetheless, they had to wait until the final matchday to know their Champions League fate. With the Foxes leading the scoreline for quite a while in the second half and simultaneously Chelsea trailing Aston Villa at Villa Park, the chances to qualify for the Champions League looked brighter for Leicester, yet they ended up short, conceding three goals in the final quarter.
Rodgers shouldn’t have taken out James Maddison
James Maddison was clearly pulling strings from the midfield, yet Rodgers decided to take him out with around 30 minutes left in the clock. Ever since then, Foxes failed to create more chances and also conceded three more goals to put Tottenham in the driver seat. Had Maddison been present for quite some time, Leicester might have changed their fortunes.
Leicester’s defensive approach went wrong
After establishing a 2-1 lead, Rodgers opted for a cautious approach by taking on his most creative player Maddison and replacing him with Ricardo Pereira. For the final 30 minutes or so, The Foxes allowed Spurs to enjoy more possession while staying deeper in their own half. However, the tactics went wrong as the Spurs looked more dangerous when they entered the final third, and this is how they managed to get three goals. Leicester, in fact, were solid in the defence for larger parts of the game but slipped up in the crucial moments.
Iheanacho’s lacklustre display
Iheanacho set the Premier League alight with his impressive goalscoring lately. However, he had a game to forget on the final matchday. The 24-year-old looked completely lost for the entirety and found it hard to get past the defence of Spurs, although he was in dangerous positions quite often.
Schmeichel’s horror show between the sticks
Kasper Schmeichel could have done better when Harry Kane placed his volley into the nets for Spurs’ first equaliser. Things got aggravated for the Danish keeper when he turned the ball into his own nets for Tottenham’s second goal.
Vardy’s brace went in vain.
Jamie Vardy looked a revived figure in the must-win game versus Spurs as he had often done in his career. The English striker put his rough patch behind and scored two penalties to give the home fans a lot to celebrate. Furthermore, he was pushing as far as he could to capitalise on every possible chance. However, he was let down by his teammates on the whole, and his brace ended up in a losing cause.
Harry Kane wins Premier League Golden Boot
It wasn’t a typical Harry Kane performance as he wasn’t at his usual best. Yet, it didn’t prevent the 27-year-old from finding the scoresheet, and he also set up Gareth Bale’s goal. With today’s goal, Kane has become the top scorer of the Premier League this season with 23 goals. Not to mention he is also the provider of the top assist.
Substitute Gareth Bale put a dagger in Leicester’s heart
We have already seen Gareth Bale making a big impact as a substitute, and today was no different as the Welshman scored a brace to put an end to Leicester’s Champions League dreams. The question is will he play for the Spurs next season or return to his parent club Real Madrid.
