Leicester’s defensive woes continued as they fell to an underwhelming 1-0 defeat to Legia Warsaw on Thursday.

Legia got off to a hot start and created a few half-chances, picking their way through a Leicester side who were clearly feeling the impact of Brendan Rodgers‘ six changes. The Polish giants took a deserved lead on the half-hour mark as Mahir Emreli bullied his way on to the ball before drilling a low shot into the corner of Kasper Schmeichel’s goal.

For the remainder of the first half, Leicester’s search for an equaliser was tame. A lack of quality in both the middle and final thirds made it hard for the Foxes to get anything going, and Ayoze Perez sliced what was easily his side’s best chance of the half shortly before the interval.

Perez did have the ball in the back of the net a few minutes into the second half, only to see his effort struck off for a foul earlier in the move.

That glimmer of hope, as well as a good headed chance for Jannik Vestergaard, didn’t change much and Rodgers was forced to turn to his heavy hitters on the hour mark. On came James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, and the former made an immediate impact as he added some much-needed quality to the game.

Despite that, Leicester could not find a way through and somehow did not concede a second. In the dying embers, both Lirim Kastrati and Tomas Pekhart both had excellent chances but neither could find a way through Kasper Schmeichel.

Leicester simply did not bring enough quality for this one, and even an excellent cameo from Maddison could not save them from falling to defeat.

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The Foxes fall behind to Legia ?

Leicester’s defence fail to deal with Mahir Emreli who hits home his ?th goal of the campaign ?

Work for Brendan Rodgers and his men to do in the second half…#UEL pic.twitter.com/dt7A4FkeYr

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 30, 2021

Kasper Schmeichel (GK) – 5/10 – Could do nothing about Emreli’s strike but it was another poor clearance from Schmeichel which allowed the chance in the first place.

Daniel Amartey (CB) – 4/10 – Embarrassingly outmuscled for Legia’s opener. Didn’t look up for this one at all.

Caglar Soyuncu (CB) – 4/10 – Asleep from the very first whistle and really struggled to deal with Legia’s threat down the left. Looked as though he didn’t understand how to work in a back three.

Jannik Verstergaard (CB) – 4/10 – So slow with absolutely everything. Tame passing and seemed to be half a second behind Legia’s forwards. Just stood and watched for Emreli’s strike. Should have done better with a great chance from a corner.

Timothy Castagne (RM) – 5/10 – At least looked as though he wanted to make things happen but was so disappointing in the final third. A few misplaced passes but deserves credit for his work rate.

Boubakary Soumare (CM) – 5/10 – Didn’t enjoy being on the outside of the midfield trio and looked a bit lost in the shuffle. Poor control and a little overwhelmed by his attacking license.

Youri Tielemans (CM) – 5/10 – Asked to be a deep playmaker but really struggled. Clearly not defensive enough to survive on his own and saw his weaknesses exploited in the first half. Given a bit more freedom after the break but was still missing his final pass.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (CM) – 4/10 – Struggled on his European debut. Saw a lot of the ball but seemed to misplace everything he did. A lot of work to do for the 23-year-old.

Luke Thomas (LM) – 3/10 – Some awful crosses and abysmal defensive positioning. Was constantly too far forwards, allowing his men in behind and exposing Soyuncu in the process.

Ayoze Perez (ST) – 4/10 – Put in a decent shift but didn’t get much right at all. Dragged a great chance wide in the first half and just didn’t do enough.

Patson Daka (ST) – 5/10 – Desperate to play in behind and make something happen but did not get anywhere near the kind of service he deserved. Messed up an overhead kick but looked super cool doing it.

A double change for City ?

▶️ Barnes & Maddison
◀️ Pérez & Dewsbury-Hall#LgwLei pic.twitter.com/gNo1w47ElY

— Leicester City (@LCFC) September 30, 2021

James Maddison (AM) – 7/10 – Made an instant impact and was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch. Did more in his 25 minutes than most did over the whole game.

Harvey Barnes (AM) – 6/10 – Not as involved as Maddison but did bring energy and movement. A few nice passes with his fellow sub.

Ademola Lookman (ST) – 6/10 – Lumped up top late on but found space hardy to come by.

Jamie Vardy (ST) – N/A – Replaced Daka late on.