Leicester City’s hopes of retaining the FA Cup were dashed on Sunday as they suffered a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Nottingham Forest in the fourth round.
Nottingham Forest claimed another scalp on Sunday, knocking out holders Leicester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup with an emphatic 4-1 victory at the City Ground on Sunday. The visitors got off to a strong start, controlling possession and firing a couple of dangerous-looking balls across the Forest box. However, their promising start spectacularly hit the buffers, with the home side scoring twice in a minute.
First, Brennan Johnson’s cross was headed down by Keinan Davis into the path of Philip Zinckernagel to shin it home. A few seconds later, Daniel Amartey’s horrendous back-pass let Johnson free, and he kept his cool to nutmeg Danny Ward for the second. Leicester’s defence fell apart even further when an unmarked Joe Worrall met James Garner’s corner to make it 3-0.
Although Kelechi Iheanacho pulled one back for the Foxes, Forest scored a fourth after the interval through Djed Spence and could have won by more. Brendan Rodgers’ side could not produce much of a reaction after going down, and the hosts advanced to the fifth round, where they will face Huddersfield Town.
The Hard Tackle will now run the rule over Rodgers’ men after being dumped out of the FA Cup following a dismal display at City Ground.
Danny Ward: 4/10
The Foxes’ backup goalkeeper put on a shocking goalkeeping display. He failed to instil confidence in his backline, in addition to making several poor decisions. He made a few decent saves, including one from Zinckernagel before Joe Worrall scored the third. Otherwise, he perhaps should have done better for all four goals. To be fair, having a porous backline in front did not do him any favours.
James Justin: 4/10
Justin looked a shadow of the player before the injury and seemed lethargic and rusty. He frequently misjudged his teammates’ runs and executed poor passes. His pace helped at the back, but he was feeble in the air for the first goal. The Englishman will need time to get back into shape and intensity.
Daniel Amartey: 2/10
Disastrous. The Ghanaian had a game to forget. He was nowhere to be seen to prevent the first goal and then played a terribly sloppy back-pass to set up the second to make a complete mockery of himself as he was not under intense pressure either. His positional sense and defending were atrocious at times, and he, similar to his defensive partner, could not cope with the physicality of Keinan Davis.
Lovely defensive line from Amartey and Soyuncu for that Forest goal ?
— Josh Wright (@_WrightJosh) February 6, 2022
Caglar Soyuncu: 2/10
Another terrible performance from Soyuncu, who never looked at ease throughout the game and was dragged all over the place. The Turk failed to inspire any kind of confidence in the defensive line, let alone leading the backline. He had a torrid time trying to contain Davis while Johnson’s runs in behind always caused problems.
He won a fair few headers and made some tackles, but that was about it. Once dubbed as the next defensive star in the English top-flight, the drop-off in his performance this season has been truly alarming.
Luke Thomas: 5/10
He surged forward to support Harvey Barnes in the first half and crossed a few good balls into the box. However, he gave the ball away cheaply on occasions and struggled to keep up with Djed Spence’s pace and explosiveness down the right-wing. Probably still Leicester’s most composed defender on the day.
Wilfred Ndidi: 5/10
Ndidi did not provide his side with the same level of control and steadiness that he usually does. One of the Foxes’ most consistent performances this season, the Nigerian was rather ineffective, unable to win ground duels or drive with the ball to relieve pressure on his side. Having said that, he made 6 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 2 clearances on the day, which demonstrates his effort.
Youri Tielemans: 2/10
Tielemans was a complete passenger in midfield and was terrible in the first half. His passes rarely found their target and he offered no defensive support at all. The Foxes are reliant on him to control the game and set the tempo, but he failed to do so beyond the opening 20 minutes. The Belgian was completely anonymous in the second half as well and kept losing possession before being hooked off.
James Maddison: 6/10
One of the very few Leicester players to come out with some credit. The playmaker was heavily involved and was at the heart of every Leicester attack. His clever movement in and out of possession looked dangerous, and he consistently drew free kicks. He set up Iheanacho’s goal with a decent pass, but he could not churn out too many chances in the second half. Even then, he was the Foxes’ best player on the pitch.
Ademola Lookman: 4/10
Lookman did have a couple of attempts at goal, but they were all wide. He made one good run to connect with Maddison’s well-worked corner routine and got a shot away that nearly found the back of the net. He looked promising whenever he got that wiggle room from his marker to break free and combined well with Iheanacho and Tielemans at times. Still, those moments were few and far between.
Kelechi Iheanacho: 6.5/10
The Nigerian was on the scoresheet as he finished from a tight angle to net the only goal for Leicester created by a beautiful through pass by Maddison and an error by the Forest goalkeeper. He generally did well with the limited service he got. Looked good when dropping deeper to get involved and assist in build-up play after being paired with Patson Daka in the second half. Perhaps, Rodgers should not have started him as a sole striker.
Harvey Barnes: 4/10
Barnes was not up to usual standards on the day as the English attacker lacked creativity and the decision-making to make the perfect pass at the right moment. There were instances involving himself, Maddison, and Thomas that might have turned the game on its head, but he failed to make the most of those moments.
Substitutes
Patson Daka: 5/10
The Zambian attacker was ineffective after coming on as a sub in the second half. He could not muster a single shot on target from two chances and arguably should have done better with his finishing.
Ricardo Pereira: 5/10
The Portuguese full-back was probably rushed back into, but the state of affairs on the pitch was so dire. He brought directness and defended well. The Foxes desperately need him firing on all cylinders.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: 6/10
Dewsbury-Hall showed energy, creativity, and enthusiasm that the Foxes lacked big time despite his limited minutes on the pitch. His work rate and link-up play were exemplary.