Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper has now praised Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu for the defensive side of their game.
Leicester City secured their fourth straight Championship win by beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Once more, the Foxes showcased their easy-on-the-eye style of football that has seen them blitz past the rest of the division and create a 12-point gap between them and second-place Leeds United.
Enzo Maresca has orchestrated this style with an abundance of attacking talent.
With the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Abdul Fatawu and Stephy Mavididi frightening the opposition, there’s no wonder the Foxes are deadly in the final third.
After all, former Leicester winger Matt Piper did hail Mavididi and Fatawu as ‘outstanding’ and ‘unplayable’ from an attacking sense against Wednesday.
However, an underrated part of Maresca’s possession-based system is how his players press in numbers to win the ball back.
This is how Fatawu scored the opener against Wednesday, as Dewsbury-Hall capitalised on a defensive error to slide the ball across to the Ghanian for an open goal.
When his side lose possession, the Italian also instructs his players to track back and win the ball.
As wingers supporting their full-back in defensive situations, Fatawu and Mavididi have impressed with their determination to work back and they’ve now received praise from Piper for their role in shutting down opposing attacks.
Abdul Fatawu and Stephy Mavididi receive praise for defensive contributions
Speaking after their comfortable victory over Sheffield Wednesday, Piper told BBC Sport: “Playing in the system that Enzo [Maresca] plays, you need a winger that’s going to work. There’s no point in playing this system if you’ve got a Riyad Mahrez on the wing, it can’t happen. There’s too much room.
“These two seem to have the energy, desire and skillset to do it. Defending is a skill, you’ve got to be brave. I hope we sign Fatawu and make him permanent at the end of the season, he’s a top player.
“It’s going to be really important next season [if Leicester get to the Premier League]. We’re not going to have as much possession.”
Fatawu’s and Mavididi’s defensive stats
All of the top players in world football are known for their ability to defend. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has the best team on the planet at relentlessly pressing to win possession back after losing it.
It’s why they’ve gone through a period of unparalleled success and why Maresca has adopted some of the principles from the Spaniard’s style.
As highlighted by FBref, Fatawu averages 2 tackles per game and 1.47 clearances in the Championship, placing him in the top 20% and top 8% of wingers in the division.
Likewise, Mavididi gets through his fair share of defensive work as he averages 1.71 tackles and 1.13 blocks.
Their ability to defend is crucial because once promotion to the top flight is confirmed, the responsibilities of their wingers to track back will be heightened as Leicester will be required to do more defending.