Premier League Tactics: How De Bruyne and Mahrez destroyed Leicester

Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez wrecked Leicester’s mean defense with movement, pace and quick decisions.

Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes are slim but still alive after Saturday’s 3-1 win over Leicester. The Citizens had Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez to thank for seeing off their second-place opposition.

City’s main focus was to break down a Leicester defense that had conceded a mere 11 goals before Saturday, easily the fewest in the division. The Foxes’ success at the back had been built on the rapport between aggressive center-backs Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu, as well as the versatility and athleticism of full-back duo Ricardo Pereira and Ben Chilwell.

City made Chilwell the target of their attacking plan, with De Bruyne and Mahrez Pep Guardiola’s weapons of choice. City’s approach relied on using De Bruyne to put Chilwell in a bind.

The key was De Bruyne’s movement. He regularly took up positions between Chilwell and Soyuncu.

Leicester were wary of giving De Bruyne too much room because of the Belgian’s influence and craft. So Chilwell responded by tucking in to support Soyuncu and track De Bruyne’s runs.

This left Mahrez isolated on the flank, with Foxes’ winger Harvey Barnes not alert and committed enough to chase the Algerian back. Mahrez used the space to test Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel early and often:

https://twitter.com/NBCSportsSoccer/status/1208444132621987842

Leicester couldn’t cope because more often than not Chilwell stayed tight to Soyuncu. It left acres of space for Mahrez and presented an easy switch of play for City.

Mahrez was also flourishing because of the challenges he posed Chilwell whenever the full-back scampered away from De Bruyne to meet him.

Chilwell was reticent to get too tight to Mahrez, knowing the latter’s pace and ability to spin in behind would leave him embarrassed. Yet giving Mahrez too much of a cushion afforded him extra time and space to use his tricky feet and impeccable close control to go past his marker.

The way De Bruyne and Mahrez dovetailed their movements meant Chilwell could never be right.

Mahrez exploited an early mismatch when he shed the attentions of Vardy and Barnes on the left and teed up De Bruyne to force a save from Schmeichel.

Chilwell had been tucked in next to Soyuncu, giving Mahrez markers he knew he could beat when free on the wing. The next time Mahrez received the ball, Chilwell was wide enough to meet him, but he didn’t get close enough.

Mahrez duly cut in from the right and scored with his left foot, a Premier League trope now depressingly familiar to every defender he has faced:

https://twitter.com/NBCSportsSoccer/status/1208448207430266885

Leicester have relied on keeping a compact shape at the back to frustrate teams, but City turned this trait against the Foxes. In particular, De Bruyne consistently drew the attentions of Chilwell by playing behind a forward-thinking Leicester midfield three.

Wilfred Ndidi was isolated in the holding role while playmaker Youri Tielemans and No. 10 James Maddison sought to get on the ball and push forward.  It meant De Bruyne wasn’t tracked when he drifted further across the middle and ran off Ndidi.

City also stretched the pitch with Mahrez and Raheem Sterling particularly wide. With full-backs Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker doubling up on the flanks, Tielemans and Maddison had to help overmatched wingers Ayoze Perez and Barnes with defensive duties.

This left Ndidi outnumbered whenever City pushed runners through the middle.

Brendan Rodgers might have responded to the problem by adding another body to the base of midfield. He’d done so earlier in the season by pairing Ndidi with Hamzah Choudhury, and while the setup stifled Leicester’s creativity somewhat, it did make them harder to beat.

De Bruyne would not have enjoyed the freedom he did had the Foxes stacked central areas. Instead, there was nobody to track him whenever he got behind the Leicester midfield and made runs from out to in or in to out.

City’s movement gave members of the Leicester back four a dilemma. Either they could expand the spaces between them to track wide runners and risk leaving gaps for passes to be threaded through the middle. Or else they could compact by forming a central block, the way Chilwell did alongside Soyuncu, and leave extra space for Mahrez and Sterling.

Chilwell chose the first option for City’s third goal, a perfect illustration of the effectiveness of Mahrez and De Bruyne. The latter was behind a sleeping Maddison when the move began, while Mahrez stood almost on the touchline.

His position prompted Chilwell to sprint wide, leaving room for Walker to slip a pass to De Bruyne in the channel. Then some fancy skill took him through the sweet spot between Soyuncu and Chilwell and left him to tee up Jesus for a tap-in:

The Foxes had once again been baffled by City’s overload on the right. Chilwell had been caught out and Soyuncu easily beaten, but Maddison’s failure to stay alert to De Bruyne’s movement proved more costly.

Mahrez and De Bruyne moved rapidly and made decisions to pass or shoot even quicker. The result was a Leicester defense never able to get up to speed.

It also meant City’s two star turns delivered exceptional performances:

https://twitter.com/StatmanDave/status/1208468555886403586

https://twitter.com/StatmanDave/status/1208469175888498688

City’s ability to tactically refresh without losing the impetus to attack has been the key to their success in recent years. It’s why Guardiola is able to take creative talents like De Bruyne and Mahrez to another level and why this title race isn’t over yet.