Foxes gradually attaining status as final day top four bottlers
The 2020/21 Premier League season has come to an end and one of the teams that was dealt a major blow is Leicester City. The Foxes yet again failed to live up to expectations in their quest for a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League competition.
It was the same scenario that panned out in the 2019/20 season when they lost against Manchester City on the final day of the season and bottled their chances. It was the same again.
The Foxes needed a win against Tottenham Hotspur but couldn’t achieve it as they faced a Spurs side with superior quality and depth who were intent on ending the season on a high even if it was for a place in the lowly newly introduced Europa Conference League that begins next season.
Leicester City took the lead twice via penalties converted by Jamie Vardy but Harry Kane and Gareth Bale had other ideas on the day.
The due inflicted misery on Brendan Rodgers’ side after getting back into the game at 2:2 due to a miscue by Kasper Schmeichel. From then on, it was all Spurs as their quality in front spoke for them in a game that eventually ended 4:2 in favor of the visitors.
The sad part is that the Foxes missed out on a top 4 place after spending 69 game weeks out of the 76 total game weeks of the season in the top four.
It was noted that the Foxes had the toughest closing encounter on paper amongst other top four contenders and that they would have to dig deep for all 3 points and hope that one of the contenders falter. Well, Chelsea did by losing 2:1 to Aston Villa at Villa Park but the win by Spurs ensured they made it ahead of Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Brendan Rodgers will surely be devastated after missing out on the top 4 by a whisker for a second successive season. It appears he’s yet to gain the managerial and tactical stamina to triumph in the biggest and more competitive stages. His sides appear to lack that character.
It can be recalled how he lost the league at Liverpool with very few games to go even when they had their destiny in their hands and in the best of form.
Regardless, he and his side will have to take solace in the 2020/21 FA Cup triumph against Chelsea at Wembley and prepare to go again next season.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if the Northern Irish manager will be in charge at the King Power next season.
The fact is despite how his sides appear to bottle chances in the biggest of stages, he’s actually proven to be a top-class manager. If he stays, hopefully, they won’t bottle another chance next season.
