A bad result but
MATCH OF A SPECIAL SEASON
ELEVEN months before the confetti cannons were set off and Jamie Vardy hoisted the Championship trophy into the air, Leicester City sat down with Enzo Maresca for the first time, no doubt with this moment in their minds.
After nearly a year of dedication to the cause from hundreds of people, from the players to the management team to the behindthe-scenes staff, City got their hands on the prize they wanted.
So it’s perhaps not a surprise that the game itself felt like a distraction.
The City supporters in the ground were there for events beyond the 90 minutes of football.
They were there to pay tribute to Vardy and Marc Albrighton and to see their team handed another piece of silverware.
It felt a little like that for the players, too, the match merely a precursor to the showpiece event of the day.
Perhaps, too, the players were finally feeling the effects of their week of celebration.
Despite the late nights and beers sunk following the Leeds defeat that secured their promotion, City were able to pull out one of their best displays of the season to rip through Preston and take the Championship title.
But with more partying since then, maybe adrenaline levels were dropping and tiredness was catching up with them.
It wasn’t the worst display, but it did have a distinctly end-of-season feel about it.
City started slowly and if not for some valiant interventions in their own box, they would have found themselves behind to a Blackburn side who were keen to catch them hungover in the early stages.
Once City settled, they created a couple of chances, but there was very little urgency to it.
The carrot of reaching 100 points and becoming the first second-tier team to win 32 games in more than a century didn’t feel like enough.
Sammie Szmodics’ opener sparked them into life and they probably did fashion enough good opportunities to feel they merited an equaliser, Aynsley Pears making one particularly terrific save to tip Harry Winks’ drive on to the bar.
Szmodics scored again, and City had lost. “Ah well” was perhaps the strongest negative emotion fans could muster at the final whistle.
But while the 90 minutes didn’t go to plan, City pretty much got everything else right to give supporters moments to savour.
The tifo, brilliantly put together by Union FS, was a thrill to see for those in the two stands not playing their part in creating it, and hopefully a joy for those underneath the foil sheets to know they helped celebrate Vardy’s goalscoring heroics in such a spectacular way.
Across the day, there were plenty of moments that gave Albrighton a send-off to remember, from the standing ovation as he warmed up to Vardy handing him the armband as he made his way on to the pitch for his last appearance.
That Vardy also called on Albrighton and fellow deputy captain Ricardo Pereira to help him lift the trophy was a moment of camaraderie that warmed the hearts of those in the stands.
City have had their fill over the past fortnight. The joy from the victories over Southampton and Preston means those games rank among the best nights in the club’s history.
Saturday was a nice way to wrap things up, even without the bonus of the result.
Maresca looks to the future with experiment in defence
Maresca’s post-match assessment may have given the impression he wasn’t too fussed about the scoreline either.
The Italian pointed out that as well as Blackburn, the other three teams going into the day battling to survive all won.
Rovers had a lot more riding on the game and that showed. Maresca refuted the idea that losing took some gloss off the day.
But he definitely did care. His stomps of frustration when Winks received the ball from his defence in space but didn’t turn out, instead playing it backwards, proved as much.
Even with the objective complete, Maresca was staring intensely from his technical area throughout.
Because the job’s never done. There’s next season to think about now, and Maresca got a head-start on preparations by trying something new.
It was a twist on the usual defensive set-up. This season, City have lined up with a back four when out of possession, but with one of the full-backs moving into midfield when they do have the ball, with the rest of the defence shuffling into a back three.
The same principles were there, but this time Hamza Choudhury started from centre-back before moving into midfield.
That meant James Justin, starting on the right, got to be more of a traditional full-back, allowing him the opportunity to advance down the flank and show off the athleticism and dynamism that made his name a few years ago.
The tweak to the tactics didn’t work especially well. There definitely felt like a greater disorganisation at the back as a result, while Justin wasn’t able to influence the attack as much as perhaps he and Maresca would have liked.
But to see the manager experimenting with different solutions was promising.
“I’m thinking already about the future,” Maresca said after the match.
“Today’s game was important because games are always important. But it’s good to start to think how we could improve next season.
“Hamza could be an option there,
Wout (Faes) could be an option, Wilf (Ndidi) could also be an option to do that kind of job. Today is finished, we can relax and start to think about next season.”
Albrighton shown the love in emotional send-off
While no official confirmation has been given, it’s long been expected that the match would be the finale to Albrighton’s decade at the King Power Stadium.
When he came off the bench with 35 minutes left and Vardy jogged over to give him the armband, it made things clear. This was definitely a goodbye.
In response, the 30,000 fans inside the stadium showed their love. Supporters lapped up every touch.
There were a couple of teasing crosses to get the crowd out of their seats, too. They just needed somebody in the box to attack them.
Albrighton’s role in the team has diminished over the past few years and he didn’t start a single league game this term.
But his impact on the team’s success over the past decade, and his selfless performances, have definitely not been forgotten.
He will go down as a City legend and supporters made sure he knows that by expressing their adoration in his send-off.
Ten more years, Jamie Vardy? It will be at least one. There was love for Vardy, too. But this doesn’t feel like the end.
His name always gets the biggest cheer when the teams are read out before kick-off, but this time it was deafening.
When he was substituted, he took extra time to applaud all four corners of the stadium. But it felt more like a thank you than a farewell.
Fans may chant for 10 more years from their skipper, but while that’s knowingly optimistic, it seems almost certain now he will get at least one more season in blue. All four stands may need to be included in the tifo this time next year.
Chairman’s Championship comment denies City’s rollercoaster identity
There was an interesting comment from the chairman as he signed off for the season with his final programme notes.
It read: “I must save a special thank you for our supporters, who deserve to enjoy today more than anyone. This has been a season you should never have had to experience, but you have stood strongly behind the team in the face of every challenge we have faced.”
There is an acknowledgement there of the woeful underperformance of last season that put City in this position. It could be interpreted as a sign of their ambition and their belief about where the club belong. But it also hints at a feeling that the Championship is either beneath City or simply a division to put up with until the Premier League provides the real entertainment.
But football’s football. Fans just want a team to watch, no matter what division they’re in.
This has been a weird campaign, there’s no denying that.
For large parts, because of the two-month dip in form, because of the lack of jeopardy that made some matches underwhelming even in victory, and because of the expectations that City should be at the top, it was missing the usual euphoria of a promotion season at times.
Fans have enjoyed the lack of VAR, and seeing Vardy bang in another 20 goals. They’ve enjoyed getting to know new heroes in Abdul Fatawu and Mads Hermansen. They’ve enjoyed big victories and last-minute goals.
Yes, there have been plenty of grumbles and boos from the stands but this will be a season reflected on fondly. The Championship is not beneath any club. City are leaving it behind for now, but at some point in the future, they’ll be back.
And anyway this is Leicester City. It’s supposed to be a rollercoaster.