Are Leicester the most exciting team in Europe at the minute?

By Urban Newton

(@urban_newton)

Defensive football is supposed to be boring. Defensive football is not supposed to be celebrated, particularly in the post-Cruyff era we are witnessing at this moment in time.

The legacy Johan Cruyff has left the footballing world is one of pressing, of passing, of simply goals and entertainment.

That could not have been better exemplified than at St Mary’s last Friday. Leicester City secured the English top-flight’s biggest ever away win with a 9-0 victory over Southampton.

This weekend they travel to Crystal Palace, knowing that, this time, the game may not be so straightforward. Yet still, we will see this magnificent style of play that Brendan Rodgers has unearthed.

Pep Guardiola may well be the messiah in spreading the word of Cruyff, but in a little Northern Irishman called Brendan, pressing, passing, goals and entertainment seems to be coming in abundance in the East Midlands.

Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez were nothing short of sensational last week. The two wingers drifted inside at their own will, playing between the lines of the porous Saints’ 5-4-1 with ease.

The Foxes’ midfield three is also very similar to that of Guardiola’s Manchester City. Wilfred Ndidi is the Fernandinho/Rodri holding player behind two, what Kevin de Bruyne once coined, “free 8s”.

Typically James Maddison and Youri Tielemans these two are given the freedom of the pitch. They run beyond opposition defences regularly whilst also possessing all the creative qualities of number 10s to create both counter attacks and higher up the pitch when breaking teams down.

That has been the most impressive aspect of Leicester’s play this season- the breaking down of teams.

Claudio Ranieri’s side were dogmatic and reactive. They did not want the ball and sat deep. They instead perfected the counter-attack, with blistering pace and efficiency.

The Claude Puel era also saw similarly conservative, perhaps even safer, football.

Under Brendan Rodgers’ tutelage, the Foxes still have that counter-attacking prowess but now also the cutting-edge in the final third to get through teams after the periods of possession, which were sometimes overly preached by Puel.

They have one of the world’s most complete strikers in Jamie Vardy too. He does not stop running. Whether it be chasing down opposing defenders in possession or making piercing runs between centre-backs from halfway, his movement and work rate is extraordinary.

The transformation of Leicester over the last five years has been radical and sensational, yet for Vardy, the only real outfield constant, the goals have never dried up.

On Sunday afternoon, Leicester will face Roy Hodgson’s Palace knowing that they will have to be at their utmost best.

Palace have proven to be a tough nut to crack this season, and the Foxes will have to demonstrate their ability to break opponents down, whilst also being wary of the sometimes devastating wing-play the Eagles can showcase.

Leicester, in their 4-3-3 system that encourages individual brilliance and freedom, are one of the most exciting teams in Europe at the minute however. The likenesses to the school of Cruyff, brought about by a small Northern Irishman, are uncanny.

Even if they did ultimately miss out on their final target at the end of this season- Champions League football- that too would simply reinforce their newfound affinities to the legacy of the Dutch icon.

By Urban Newton

(@urban_newton)