Leicester City extended their losing streak in the Premier League to 12 in 13 games with a 1-0 loss against Chelsea.
Despite a change in system for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester, the Foxes were unable to come away with anything from Stamford Bridge as Enzo Maresca haunted his former side with a match-winning performance.
However, there were some performances for Leicester fans to be proud of, with Mads Hermansen praised for his ‘brilliant’ penalty save against Cole Palmer to keep the score at 0-0 heading into the second-half.
And Van Nistelrooy has now showered one Leicester player with praise after their display this afternoon in west London.
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Luke Thomas lauded after top defensive performance vs Chelsea
Speaking to the press at Stamford Bridge, the former Manchester United coach was full of praise for Luke Thomas’ performance against Chelsea, with the 23-year-old making only his third Premier League start of the season.
Playing as the left-sided centre-back, Thomas was one of the winners on the day for Leicester as the former England youth international showed why he still has a future with the Foxes despite playing just eight times in all competitions.
And Van Nistelrooy’s praise for Thomas post-match could hint towards more starts in upcoming games for the young defender, who impressed greatly against Chelsea’s £1bn squad in what was a must-win fixture for both sides.
Van Nistelrooy said: “He showed today how good he was on the ball and in jumping into midfield. He had to defend in midfield against Enzo Fernandez many times, he did really well. He did well when he went to the wing against Jadon Sancho. He did an excellent job.”
Chelsea display must lead to more starts for Luke Thomas
Thomas has been a forgotten figure at Leicester this season, with the former Brendan Rodgers favourite finding minutes hard to come by in the last two years having suffered from a real drop in form despite so much early promise.
Yet today’s performance against Chelsea could be the beginning of something new for Thomas, who was one of the best players on the pitch at Stamford Bridge and gave a great account of himself in the new-look Leicester defence.
Indeed, Thomas has shown he can play a big part for Leicester in their bid to survive in the Premier League, and the 23-year-old will want to give it his all in the final ten games of the season to keep his boyhood club in the top-flight.