Atletico Madrid 1-0 Leicester: Jamie Vardy was too isolated for the Foxes

Leicester lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal, as striker Jamie Vardy struggled to influence the game.

Leicester suffered a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal in Madrid on Wednesday, as Atletico Madrid triumphed thanks to a disputed penalty by Antoine Griezmann in the 28th minute.

The Foxes will certainly still fancy their chances of turning it around at the King Power Stadium next Tuesday, just as they did in the previous round against another Spanish team, Sevilla.

In that tie, however, they had the benefit of an away goal at the halfway stage. England international Jamie Vardy scored in the second half in Seville to give his side a more realistic chance of a second-leg comeback.

During the Atletico match, that never appeared likely, as Vardy was far too isolated from his teammates. This tweet from Optajoe only covers the first half, but illustrates the point well.

Change of formation

Leicester tend to play in a 4-4-2 formation, with one of Islam Slimani or Shinji Okazaki usually partnering Vardy up top.

Their manager, Craig Shakespeare, opted to go with a more cautious 4-4-1-1 in Madrid. Okazaki played, but his position was between Vardy and the midfield, rather than alongside last season’s Premier League top scorer. The tactic ensured Vardy was isolated, though. Okazaki’s average position was on the half way line, while that of his regular strike partner was on the edge of the final third.

The choice of tactic made sense on one hand, as Leicester would’ve wanted to keep the game tight and restrict Atletico to as few chances as possible. With Atletico fielding a 4-4-2, Okazaki’s position meant Leicester should have had an extra man in midfield.

The Foxes won their one previous match using the 4-4-1-1 formation this season, too. The problem was Atletico Madrid are no Stoke. Leicester may have beaten the Potters last time they used the formation, but that was always an unlikely outcome in Madrid.

Vardy couldn’t get in to the game

In his 77 minutes on the pitch in Madrid, Vardy only had 11 touches, as the below image from WhoScored demonstrates. Leicester are playing from right to left.

In the Premier League this season, Vardy has averaged 24.5 touches for every 77 minutes played. In Madrid, he was roughly half as involved, and his touches were mostly unproductive, too.

He only had one shot, which went toward the corner flag (as per the line on the WhoScored image). He attempted just three passes and only one found a teammate. The other two were flick-ons from long balls but there was nobody nearby to collect them. Three of his touches were deemed unsuccessful by Opta, which means he lost the ball through bad control. There was very little to redeem Vardy’s performance on the night, though it was not all his fault.

Next: Juventus 3-0 Barcelona: Highlights and recap

Leicester are still in with a chance in their Champions League quarterfinal tie, but Vardy will need to be far more involved on home soil if they are to progress.