Leeds supporters were enjoying an evening of watching them beat Leicester while baiting James Maddison, until Jamie Vardy’s introduction changed everything.
For well over an hour at Elland Road, it felt as though James Maddison had long surrendered a losing battle, having contrived to pick entirely the wrong one in the first place. As naturally as the pantomime villain boot fits, there are more appropriate times to bed it in than a relegation six-pointer under the midweek floodlights in a hostile West Yorkshire environment.
It started innocently enough, with a sedentary Maddison cheekily indicating how close he had come to meeting a dangerous Kelechi Iheanacho cross when he was predictably goaded by the home supporters. But it soon descended into something far less well-natured after the Leicester playmaker won a free-kick, stood over it and egged the same fans on by waving his arms as they accused him of moonlighting as a merchant banker.
A subsequent overhit delivery which qualified as neither a shot nor a cross was not the most resounding riposte. But it did sum up a performance which was actively detrimental to Leicester’s hopes at times.
Maddison bears a substantial burden as Leicester’s chief creator but it weighed heavy here. Every free-kick and corner was too low and achieved a laughable consistency in failing to clear the first man. The flicks did not pay off. A ferocious Leeds press gave him no space and the home fans delighted in that inability to start a fire when starved of oxygen. Maddison played the crowd instead of the game and ended up being consumed by both.
I will not survive another 5 games like this.
Changes made a massive difference, Maddison absolutely unplayable last 20.
Coming back like that will give momentum at least.
Keep the faith. 🦊 #lcfc
— Jamie Thorpe (@thorpie54) April 25, 2023
Yet the last laugh was his as soon as Dean Smith provided the setup to a punchline the Premier League has not indulged in often enough this season. When the anonymous Tete and ineffective Harvey Barnes were withdrawn in the 70th minute, the sight of Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka – actual willing runners, agents of chaos and moving targets to aim at – must have been quite the relief.
Maddison completed two tackles and one dribble, creating one chance with a 72% pass-success rate before that double substitution. In the 20 minutes plus stoppage time thereafter, he completed one tackle and one dribble, creating three chances…
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