Steve Cooper will have been happy to see his Leicester City side take a point against Tottenham on Monday night but will know there’s plenty of work to do to stay in the Premier League.
Leicester City fans were handed a double boost ahead of kicking off their return to the top flight.
Firstly, Jamie Vardy was unexpectedly named in the starting XI despite having been absent since the first friendly of the summer, before Oliver Skipp was unveiled as a Leicester player having completed his £20 million move from Tottenham.
This positivity soon turned to anxiety, though, as Tottenham imposed themselves on the Foxes from the first whistle and it looked as though things could get messy for Steve Cooper‘s side.
However, Leicester bounced back in the second-half having conceded in the 29th-minute and levelled through their talisman as Vardy headed an Abdul Fatawu cross past Guglielmo Vicario.
It was only once they scored that Leicester began to compete, but they managed to take a valuable first point of the season despite a largely concerning display.
Abdul Fatawu impresses for Leicester City in Premier League debut
Winger Fatawu spent last season on loan at the King Power before making the deal permanent from Sporting this summer.
The 20-year-old was joined in the starting line-up by two more new signings as Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Facundo Buonanotte both made their debuts for the club.
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Fatawu showed willing to do both sides of the game, as he constantly helped James Justin defensively with Spurs primarily attacking down their left side.
Despite this, the Ghanaian managed to get forward to provide the telling moment of the match as he curled in a sublime cross for Vardy’s goal.
Leicestershire Live were full of praise for Fatawu following his Premier League debut, scoring his performance a seven out of ten and describing the winger as ‘Leicester’s biggest threat’ as they said: “His control was poor at times, but when he got running at Udogie, he was City’s biggest threat.
“Delivered the perfect cross for Vardy and defended diligently.”
Statistics back up strong Fatawu display for Leicester
Fatawu quickly became a fan favourite at Leicester last season for his boundless energy and the way he ran full-backs ragged in the Championship.
There is obviously a step up in quality associated with the jump to the Premier League and Fatawu’s display against Tottenham showed he is very much capable of performing at the top level.
According to Sofascore, Fatawu made two key passes as well as his assit and completed three dribbles against a difficult opponent in Destiny Udogie.
He was also fouled three times to relieve pressure from his side, whilst he won 13 duels in a battling display.
Fatawu’s defensive contribution in the Spurs draw should not be overlooked, with the youngster also making five clearances and six tackles.
Cooper knows there are improvements to be made, but Fatawu showed his manager that he will be crucial this season.