Analysis: How did bottom of the table Norwich beat high-flying Leicester?

Jamal Lewis's strike condemned Leicester City to their second straight 1-0 defeat.

Analysis: How did bottom of the table Norwich beat high-flying Leicester?
Leicester players following the 1-0 defeat to Norwich on Friday night | Photo: Getty/ Julian Finney
joshholland1
By Josh Holland

Leicester City's poor form continued on Friday night when Jamal Lewis struck wonderfully in the 70th minute to keep Norwich City's survival bid alive.

The defeat now means, if Chelsea win at Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, the gap between the Foxes and Frank Lampard's men will bridge down to only three points.

After last week's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, the result against the bottom side lacked many positives to take away.

Unlucky with VAR

There was a shock amongst the Leicester fans when the line-up was announced and the exclusion of Jamie Vardy. Kelechi Iheanacho started as the striker but failed to offer much.

However, the Nigerian forward had his 20-yard strike ruled out by VAR for handball. 

The goal came when the Foxes really began to control the game and if the goal stood, the outcome could have been very different.

Embed from Getty Images

Lacklustre performances continue

With the poor performances from individuals continuing, a number of Foxes players have continued their own poor form.

Ben Chilwell, who has been amongst the criticism and last night continued his poor form. Earlier in the season, the England left-back was praised for his forward runs and link-up with Harvey Barnes.

However, last night, Chilwell only attempted two take-ons: completing only one. Out of his six crosses he attempted, he only succeeded with one and only made 18 passes forward.

The winner came from a cross from his fellow full-back, Max Aarons. There is an argument that Chilwell allowed the Norwich player to beat him and cross the ball too easily.

In the previous number of games, the free-flowing football that has been the key to Brendan Rodger's reign at the club has disappeared and been replaced by laboured, lazy build-up. 

The absence of Wilfred Ndidi was clear to see and it's a joy to have the defensive midfielder back. If the fast-paced, slick football can break back into the play then the club's luck could change.

Lack of options out wide

There have been calls for a new winger to be brought into the club since Riyad Mahrez departed the club back in 2018.

Last night, Brendan Rodgers put Ayoze Perez back into the starting line-up. However, he was replaced with 12 minutes remaining by Marc Albrighton after producing near to nothing.

Perez, who is originally not a winger, failed to produce much at Carrow Road. After some neat footwork, the Spaniard fired a tame effort at Tim Krul and that was all.

The introduction of Albrighton didn't change anything in the game either. The former Aston Villa winger only made five passes and had one cross sail over the men in the box.

Embed from Getty Images

Changes need to be made

The Foxes have now won only three league games in the last 12 and it is worrying that as well as the dip in results, the performances have also been disappointing.

The goals have also dried up. The 1-0 defeat now means Leicester have failed to score in the last three games and if Vardy's injury is a bad one, the pressure would fall on Iheanacho.

Next up is Birmingham City in the FA Cup before Aston Villa make the trip to the King Power Stadium. The Premier League form table shows that the Foxes are bottom in home form in the last six games, losing three of their last six.