Leicester City suffered defeat in their second Premier League fixture to Fulham.
Steve Cooper’s side lost out in a 2-1 away defeat against Fulham at Craven Cottage, with Wout Faes’ first goal for Leicester City this season not being enough for the Foxes to come back with any points.
There was a lot of fight amongst the side, despite the scoreline, and Cooper’s team appear to be a side that will be difficult to beat this season after today, even if they don’t quite have the qualities of the large majority of Premier League outfits at this moment in the transfer window.
Whilst it was a game that Cooper can take positives from, there were some underlying issues that were exposed as a result of a left-field decision made by Cooper, and Fulham were able to capitalise as a result throughout the 90 minutes.
One player in particular was played slightly out of position, and as a result was left with a difficult task, something that Cooper must rectify after the defeat to Fulham and potentially bring in extra recruits.
Leicester City v Fulham showed that Steve Cooper must target wing-backs
After what was an uninspiring defeat for Leicester City as they were unable to replicate what was a decent performance against Tottenham Hotspur at home, there was one clear position that stood out as a weak-point in Cooper’s side.
The Foxes were continuously targeted in the wide areas when Fulham were on the attack, with Leicester City’s wing-backs being Victor Kristiansen and Abdul Issahaku Fatawu.
Whilst Kristiansen performed fairly well at left wing-back, Cooper will be weary that Fatawu on the right as a makeshift wing-back will certainly not be a sustainable option for the season ahead, and this is certainly something that must be improved.
Steve Cooper must be bolder in his team selections
It is clear that, dispute Fatawu being somewhat inexperienced when it comes to defending, Cooper has opted with him as a result of an overload of wingers, and the desire for the former Nottingham Forest boss to get both the Ghanaian international and Facundo Buonanotte in the side.
Whilst it makes sense for Cooper to bring in depth on the wide areas, playing Fatawu in a defensive position could prove to be costly as he has clear inabilities when it comes to one-on-one defending, albeit he has the pace to catch up with an opponent.
Per SofaScore, Fulham’s highest concentration of play came down the wings after the home side recognised this as a weak point for the Foxes, and they were able to attempt 12 crosses in the first half.
This is something that the opposition will continue to exploit, as Fulham notably did with their first goal, and Cooper must be proactive in looking to bring a right wing-back in as a result of the lack of depth and the issues surrounding playing a winger out of position.