Leicester City wingman Riyad Mahrez has
set the Premier League on fire with his display off pacey and skillful
football, that has taken his side in an amazing run to the top of the
Premier League.
Ahead of the top-of-the-table clash against Manchester United
on Saturday, F2Freestylers, a YouTube channel for freestyle football
released a video of the Algeria star showboating some of his amazing
talent in front of the entire internet audience.
It’s quite clear why he has been one of
the best attacking players in the league so far, with tremendous ball
control, and great skills. In this video, Mahrez squares-up with regular
freestylers Billy Wingrove and Jeremy Lynch, and matches them skill for
skill.
The Manchester United defenders better watch-out for him, when they visit the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Claudio Ranieri recognised success of side's intensity and adapted usual style, says Adrian Clarke
By Adrian Clarke Leicester City have won 15 of their last 22 Barclays Premier
League matches, a remarkable run that has lifted them from the bottom to
the top of the table.
Ahead of a top-of-the-table match with Manchester United this weekend, tactics analyst Adrian Clarke looks at how they have turned results around.
Motivated to succeed
The leaders cover roughly the same amount of ground per match as they
did last season (110km) but the nature of their running is far more
purposeful than it was 12 months ago. With every victory, their
assertiveness seems to pick up.
Working in twos and threes to win the ball back earlier (often
sparked by Jamie Vardy's energetic pressing) they are getting tighter to
rival teams, compressing the space for them to play. This is helping to
create turnovers in better areas of the field.
This attitude shift and belligerent approach is evident when
comparing Leicester City's defensive chalkboards from their last two
visits to St James' Park.
Leicester host Manchester United on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 5pm
Leicester's Jamie Vardy will go for Premier League history on Saturday Night Football as he attempts to score for the 11th game in a row when Manchester United visit the King Power Stadium, live on Sky Sports 1 HD.
The England forward struck for the 10th consecutive league
game in the Foxes' 3-0 victory over Newcastle last weekend, matching
Ruud van Nistelrooy's record, and Claudio Ranieri's side can retain
their spot atop the Premier League table with another win.
Christian Benteke earned Liverpool a 2-1 win over Bordeaux on Thursday
While Sturridge's fitness for the Swansea game remains
doubtful, Klopp said he is also unsure if fellow forward Christian
Benteke will be ready to feature.
The Belgium international, whose goal won the game against Bordeaux, has already played two full games in five days.
"I don't know in this moment if Christian is capable of playing two games in three days. We will have to decide," he said.
"But it is not the most difficult situation at this
moment with the strikers because we have Christian, Divock [Origi] and
Roberto [Firmino] who are good.
"We need all of them for this big number of games."
Gary Neville predicts Leicester and Manchester United will draw on Saturday, a result he believes both sides will settle for
Gary Neville says Manchester United can take the sting out of Leicester's pacey attack on Saturday Night Football, but admits a draw would be a good result for both sides.
Top side Leicester host Louis van Gaal's United at the King
Power Stadium, with the visitors boasting the best defensive record in
the Premier League.
Leicester are unbeaten in six Premier League
games, while United have not lost in five, conceding just once in that
time, and Neville predicts Saturday's clash will end in a share of the
spoils.
• Manager claims English football is too impatient with players
• ‘I am not sure Robert Lewandowski could have developed in England’
Liverpool’s Christian Benteke celebrates his winner against Bordeaux: ‘A brilliant player,’ said his manager .
Photograph: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Jürgen Klopp said Christian Benteke
needs time to adapt at Liverpool, claiming the impatience of English
football would have prevented Robert Lewandowski from becoming one of
the world’s finest forwards had he started in the Premier League.
The Liverpool manager, who met his predecessor, Brendan Rodgers,
recently, doubts Benteke can start a second game in four days against
Swansea City on Sunday as he regains fitness following a hamstring
problem. But he has no reservations over the Belgium international’s
long-term worth providing he has time to adapt at Liverpool after his £32.5m move from Aston Villa in the summer. Benteke sealed victory over Bordeaux and a place in the last 32 of the Europa League for Liverpool on Thursday with his fifth goal of the season.
Klopp said: “It was a very important goal for him. When I came here
he was injured. I know a lot about Christian because when he was at
Aston Villa we [Borussia Dortmund] were interested in him, everyone was
interested.
“A brilliant player but like everyone else if you are injured and
come back everyone thinks you now have to be the Christian Benteke that
he has shown before straight away. Each person needs time so he can get
better, better, better. He worked hard against Bordeaux but we did not
play too often in this formation so it was not easy for him and Roberto
[Firmino] to close the lines. It wasn’t perfect but with time they can
get better and better.”
Klopp drew parallels to the careers of Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang, two strikers he brought to Dortmund and who lead the
Bundesliga goalscoring chart with 14 and 15 goals respectively,
Lewandowski now being at Bayern Munich. The German coach believes there
is a marked contrast between the development time afforded in the
Bundesliga and Premier League.
“I can tell you I am not sure that Robert Lewandowski could have
developed into the Robert Lewandowski of today in England because no one
is patient enough to wait for this,” he said. “He made seven goals in
his first year and I don’t know what you would say about him if he made
seven goals in one year and played all the time. ‘Not good enough, come
on, sell him!’ Aubameyang needed three years for his performance at the
moment, so sometimes you have to work together. It is very important in
football.
“There is no doubt about the quality of all the strikers we have, no
doubt at all. Now we have to help them to show it better and better. A
striker more than any player needs the help of the rest of the team.
They cannot take the ball and go through and make a goal so they need
fine-tuned football, played here, played there, crosses, whatever – give
them the ball in the right area. That is what we try and do but there
is no doubt to the quality.”
Klopp confirmed he recently met Rodgers but refused to disclose
whether the problems his predecessor encountered at Anfield were
discussed.
