Jordan Blackwell's Leicester City player ratings v Leeds as midfield trio brilliant in defeat

Leicester City were left to rue poor finishing again as Leeds produced a late turnaround to dent the promotion charge of Enzo Maresca’s side and drag them back towards their rivals.

City should have been out of sight by the time Connor Roberts, Archie Gray, and Dan James scored in the final 10 minutes to inflict a second straight defeat on Maresca’s men, but chances went begging. City could now finish the weekend only six points clear of third, the smallest the gap at the top has been since early October.

Wout Faes had headed City into a deserved lead and they had countless opportunities to double their advantage, but Stephy Mavididi and Patson Daka put one-on-ones wide of Illan Meslier’s goal, while Daka also saw a finish controversially ruled out for offside. Late goals cost City against another promotion rival in Ipswich, and they again couldn’t keep their nerve to see out victory.

Maresca made one change to his side for the game, bringing in Hamza Choudhury for Dennis Praet and pushing Ricardo Pereira into midfield. But the bigger news was on the bench, where there was no Jamie Vardy, the striker ruled out with a groin injury.

With Leeds on an eight-match winning run in which they had conceded just once, and on home turf where they’d not lost all season, the hosts were the favourites. But it was City who made the brighter start, and they were rewarded for it.

Sharp pressing and quick passing got them into shooting range, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Abdul Fatawu, and Harry Winks missing the target before Ricardo headed into Illan Meslier’s hands. But then City really tested the Leeds goalkeeper, Stephy Mavididi’s powerful run past Archie Gray setting up Patson Daka for a shot that had to be tipped over the bar.

From the corner, City took the lead. Dewsbury-Hall’s corner to the front post was flicked on excellently by Daka, setting up Faes for the simple job at the far post, the Belgian heading into the net to silence the Elland Road crowd.

To that point, Leeds had only had a first-time shot from Joel Piroe to get excited by, the Dutchman striking over. But they fought back with two excellent opportunities for their wingers.

First, Wilfried Gnonto received the ball in space in the box, but turned down a chance to shoot and then ran into trouble. Moments later, Crysencio Summerville charged into the area but Jannik Vestergaard blocked him off with a superb sliding tackle.

The Leeds pressure built over the remainder of the half but while City were pushed deep, they stood firm. They were quick to nibble at Leeds heels, made good tackles on the edge of their own box, and won free-kicks to break up the flow of play and frustrate the hosts.

City began the second half like the first, dominating, and they had the chances to put the game to bed before the hour mark. First, some excellent link-up play set up Mavididi, who jinked inside only to be denied by a strong hand from Meslier.

Then City did put the ball in the net. Vestergaard met a corner and planted a header against the corner of post and bar, with Daka scrambling to put away the rebound. He wheeled away to celebrate, but the offside flag went up, Choudhury deemed to have played the ball before Daka finished. Replays showed it came off a Leeds man last and should have stood.

City kept pushing though and Dewsbury-Hall slipped in Mavididi for a one-on-one with Meslier. He set his sights, then placed his shot wide of the far post. It was a golden chance.

And the big opportunities kept coming. This time it was Daka, who when teed up by Ricardo, placed a shot well wide of the post.

The final 10 minutes arrived and City were punished. First, Vestergaard dangled out a lazy leg to set up Roberts for a fine finish into the corner. Then City got unlucky as Gray’s shot took a double deflection off Choudhury and Faes to beat Mads Hermansen.

There was time for a City comeback, but by that point, Leeds had the momentum. James rounded off the game in injury time with a free-kick through Hermansen and into the net. Here’s how we scored the players.

Mads Hermansen: There were some aimless lumps up the pitch in the first half to gift Leeds possession, and while he could do little over the first two Leeds goals, he let the third straight through him. He won’t want to see that back. 5

Hamza Choudhury: He was beaten by Summerville for one first-half chance but otherwise stood him up well. He defended with aggression and put in some strong, well-timed tackles. 7

Wout Faes: He was in the right place to head in the opener, and was in the right place defensively too for the most part. He was pulled out of position a couple of times in the first period, but made two big blocks in the second period before suffering misfortune with the deflection. 7

Jannik Vestergaard: For 80 minutes, he was brilliant. He showed composure under Leeds’ speedy press, made one outstanding tackle to deny Summerville, and nearly scored too. But then it was his lazy touch that set up Roberts’ equaliser, a costly error. 7

James Justin: He was dragged out of position for one Gnonto chance in the first half, but otherwise kept him quiet, and stuck tight to him when he or substitute James tried to sprint by him. A solid game. 6

Harry Winks: Everything you want from a midfield performance. He was always in the right position with and without the ball, providing countless good passes and interventions. Didn’t deserve to lose. 8

Ricardo Pereira: There was an ill-advised back-heel in the middle of the pitch early on, but he was very good after that, getting in position to connect attacks, and making City a big threat. Should have had an assist for Daka. 8

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: He made things happen throughout. Leeds could not handle his speed and directness on the ball, and his footwork was great too, winning him lots of free-kicks. He was so good that he quickly wound up the home fans. 8

Abdul Fatawu: He tracked Firpo diligently and carried the ball well at times, but his touch and decision-making in attack really let him down. An attempted shot from nearly 50 yards out saw him lambasted by his team-mates. 5

Patson Daka: It feels harsh to criticise him based on one bad miss. Before that, his shot earned the corner that he flicked on expertly to set up Faes, while his play with his back to goal was really good. But it was a bad miss, one that City will rue. 7

Stephy Mavididi: He had the beating of Gray and should have attacked him more often. When he did, he caused trouble. He was unfortunate to be denied by an excellent Meslier save, but should have scored just afterwards anyway. 7

Kasey McAteer: Wasn’t sharp enough into the 50-50s and that meant he lost nearly all of those he went in for. Didn’t have the impact Maresca would have wanted. 5

Tom Cannon: Leeds scored as soon as he came on and City were on the backfoot thereafter. Didn’t get into the game. 5

Who was your star man tonight? Let us know in the comments section below.