Leicester’s corner woes – why do Brendan Rodgers’ side struggle to defend dead-ball situations?
- Oliver Martin
- 18 March 2022
Sat down in 12th and with their fans fearing the worst every time the opposition gets a corner, Leicester desperately need to solve their dead-ball woes.
Thomas Partey's first-half strike put Arsenal on the way to a 2-0 win over Leicester City last weekend. His header was the 12th goal the Foxes have conceded from corners this season, more than any other team in the Premier League.
So, why do Brendan Rodgers' side keep leaking goals from corners? Planet Sport breaks down the FA Cup holders' defensive frailties.
The stats this season
In terms of set-pieces, it's not only corners that the Foxes have struggled with this season. Leicester have conceded 21 goals from dead-ball situations in 2021/22 - the highest in the Premier League and the third highest in all of Europe's top five leagues.
The Foxes have conceded 12 goals from corners, three from free-kicks and six from the penalty spot. Of their 45 goals against, almost half have been from dead-ball situations, with more than a quarter coming from corners alone.
Despite residing in mid-table, Leicester boast the fifth-worst goals-per-game average of 1.7. Away from the King Power, Leicester are conceding more than two goals per game.
Is this a new problem?
Remarkably, during the 2019/20 season, Rodgers' first full season in charge, Leicester let in just six goals from set-pieces (not including penalties) - the fewest in the division.
That season, Jonny Evans and an in-form Caglar Soyuncu formed part of a zonal marking system that didn't concede a set-piece goal until Christmas.
The pair were flanked by Ricardo Pereira, who often covered the near-post, and Ben Chilwell, whose standout season earned him a £50million move to Chelsea.
Following his departure, Luke Thomas has struggled to impose himself at corner and it was his reluctance to commit that allowed Partey to beat Kasper Schmeichel at the weekend.
The 2020/21 season saw problems emerge. Alongside Leeds, Leicester conceded the most goals from corners - 11.
Evans and Soyuncu missed 25 games between them, disturbing the defensive stability that was previously a vital part of Leicester's tactical set-up. The duo had been making an average of nine clearances a game between them, but this number fell to six during the 2020/21 campaign.
Leicester still mustered a fifth-placed finish, but 50 goals in the against column was more than Aston Villa in 11th and Brighton in 16th.
The main issues this season
So, what has been causing these problems for the East Midlands club?
As previously mentioned, defensive mismatches are often a cause for concern in Leicester's own penalty box. Luke Thomas is not the only culprit, however, with Ricardo Pereira and Timothy Castagne also losing 1v1s against more physically imposing opponents.
The latter found himself unable to prevent Ruben Dias from heading home in the nine-goal thriller at the Etihad over Christmas.
It is an issue Brendan Rodgers has identified and he has varied his set-up when it comes to defending set-pieces, switching between man-to-man and zonal marking systems without success.
After conceding seven goals from corners before Christmas, Rodgers opted for a tactical switch-up which saw three players go man-to-man on the edge of the area. These players would attempt to block off the incoming charge from the opposition, in the hope that the remaining Leicester players, often Soyuncu or Wilfred Ndidi, would clear the danger.
An investment in taller players has also failed to improve on Leicester's failings inside their own penalty area, with 6ft 2in Boubakary Soumare and 6ft 6in Jannik Vestergaard both now out of favour.
In their most recent games, Rodgers has switched back to a man-to-man system, placing a defender on both posts in a desperate attempt to alleviate their Achilles heel. In fact, as Gabriel Martinelli lined up to take up the corner from which Partey netted, all 11 Leicester players were stationed in and around the penalty box.
That fact that the Foxes also concede the third most corners per game in the top flight (6.3), behind only Burnley and Norwich (6.7), means it's something Rodgers needs to solve sooner rather than later if his side are to re-establish themselves as European challengers.
Only when Rodgers works out how to defend corners will Leicester be able to turn the corner.
