Leicester City came back from two goals down to finally end their barren losing streak against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Foxes drew 2-2 at the Amex Stadium to avoid equalling Crystal Palace’s record of losing nine games in a row without scoring.
Stephy Mavididi ended Leicester’s 76-day wait to score a top-flight goal before Caleb Okoli grabbed his first goal in Leicester colours to make it 2-2.
For Ruud van Nistelrooy, it may be too little too late, but it was a spirited display and his set up saw the Dutchman revert to a style that took inspiration from a former boss.
James Justin takes on new on-pitch role
In the run up to the game, Enzo Maresca advised Van Nistelrooy to use his tactics that proved to be such a big hit with the players last season.
One of the big successes in that season was the inverted full-back system where the right-back would move into the midfield when in possession.
Ricardo Pereira took on that role last season and on the South Coast it was James Justin who was in the ‘quarterback’ role.
Justin’s heat map on Sofascore showed that the full-back spent a lot more time in the centre of the pitch than usual. At times it was clear that he was unfamiliar with the position and was caught in no man’s land at times.
In the end, Pereira came on and assumed the role, allowing Justin to move to left-back where he was solid enough.
Ruud van Nistelrooy now has a game plan to work from
Relegation is still looking inevitable with a 14-point gap to make up with only six Premier League games left, but Leicester can be happy with how they performed.
Going to the four-at-the-back role got the best out of players such as Mavididi and maverick attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss, who was superb for the Foxes.
It’s a game plan that Van Nistelrooy can work off and the Leicester manager can build on what he saw and pick up an all-important win.