March 15, King Power Stadium
Kelechi iheanacho single handedly destroyed sheffield united at home.
The Foxes and The Blades met at King Power Stadium for their EPL fixture. Leicester City is currently 3rd in the table with 56 points, while Sheffield United is dead last with just 14 points from 29 games.
It was one of those single-side domination games as Leicester continued their glorious form while thrashing Sheffield United 5-0. This Leicester side looks set to get back into the Champions League.
Is This The End of Sheffield United?
Sheffield has lost 5 out of their last 6 games and is currently at the bottom of the Premier League with a total of 14 points.
Their former manager, Chris Wilder, who actually took the side from League One to the Premier League, decided to step down from his role as the side’s manager.
United, currently managed by their u23 manager Paul Heckingbottom, is destined to go down to the Championship this season.
They failed to bring back their form, which they showed during their promotional campaign back to the Premier League.
Leicester didn’t show any leniency to the Blades as they destroyed (Sheffield) 5-0 with Iheanacho bagging a hattrick. With this win, Leicester city put Sheffield one step closer to the Championship.
The last time Sheffield went to a game without Chris Wilder was during their 1-0 loss to Bolton Wanderers in the 2016-17 League One Campaign.
In a total of 277 games under Wilder, the Blades have only lost once by conceding 5 and have never lost by more than a three-goal margin. Life without Wilder is off to a gloomy start.
Iheanacho Proves His Doubters Wrong
The Nigerian striker joined Leicester from Manchester City for around $30m in 2017. During the start, everyone thought he would blossom into one of the best strikers in the league.
He, however, couldn’t live up to the expectations of the fans and the critics and faced a serious drought of goals.
But this season, the entire story has changed. Iheanacho currently has seven goals in his last eight games in all competitions. This type of performance shows why Leicester decided to sign him previously.
He scored the first goal of the game, at the 38th minute, with a pass from Jamie Vardy. His third goal of the campaign came in the 69th minute, and on the 78th campaign, the Nigerian striker completed his hat-trick.
This is actually his first-ever hat-trick in the Premier League. Not a bad game to get one, eh?
Both the defense and the midfield of Leicester and their passing games actually helped the striker, but his clinical finishing and work rate proved vital.
The Foxes Continue To Shine
With this win against Sheffield, Leicester briefly climbed to the 2nd position in the Premier League before dropping down back to 3rd as Manchester United beat West Ham United to regain 2nd position in the table.
Leicester has won 17 games, lost 5, and drew 7 and currently has 56 points.
With the race to the top 4 being wide open and with Leicester’s current form, there is a high chance for them to reclaim their place in the Champions League for the upcoming season.
Even though Jamie Vardy, their top goalscorer, is on a drought, his performance and dedication for the team show that he cannot just score but also set up his teammates to score.
Also, Read Jamie Vardy in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot >>
Brendan Rogers’s side will face one of the toughest challenges in Manchester City and West Ham United right after the end of the International Break.
The game against fifth-placed West Ham will prove vital for the Foxes if they want to avoid any tension at the end of the season.
How Did The Managers Feel About The Game?
BBC Sport interviewed Brendan Rogers, and when asked about how he felt about the game, he said, “We were nice and aggressive. We didn’t give them many chances.
When we had the ball, we had to be patient. It took a little bit of time, but once we got the breakthrough, we were outstanding with the speed of our game.”
He then added about Iheanacho, “Kelechi Iheanacho is a great guy, and when has been asked to come in, he has performed.
Absolutely delighted for him to have got a hat-trick in the Premier League. It’s a great achievement, and all were very good team goals”.
The heartbroken interim manager of Sheffield, Paul Heckingbottom, had to say the following after the game, “We know the circumstances behind it. It’s been a tough week in losing Chris.
He is a mate of mine. I’ve been in touch with him a few times. The players and the staff have lost their leader.
It’s taken its toll. It’s an emotional dressing room.”
“It’s a sad time, but we have to look forward. There is still a lot of football to play.
There were lots of habits in that performance which haven’t been there before. The standards have been slipping.
I’m here to help between now and the end of the season.”
What’s Next For The Teams?
Both Leicester and Sheffield United are in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. The Foxes will face Manchester United on the 21st of March.
The Blades will travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.
