Sheff Utd 1-4 Leicester Player Ratings: Ulloa underrated?

Slimani celebrates – leicestermercury.co.uk

A clinical second half display saw Leicester City move into the Third Round of the League Cup with a 4-1 win at Sheffield United. How did players on both teams rate? Here’s our verdict.

Sheffield United

Jake Eastwood – only faced one shot on target in the first half. Made a good save from Gray, but that was midway through a 15-minute second half treble salvo from the Foxes. 4

George Baldock – made some decent attacking runs, but his lack of defensive awareness was a problem. It went unpunished in the first half due to Leicester’s wasteful shooting, but he was soon made to pay for not learning his lessons. 3
Keiron Freeman – made some good overlapping runs, combining with Baldock as if he was another right wing-backs. Perhaps this made Wilder’s men vulnerable to breakaways. 4
Jake Wright – blocked King’s shot in a solid first half, but soon suffered from a lack of midfield protection. 3
Jack O’Connell – misplaced one or two passes in the first half and later struggled to keep up with the pace of the games. Perhaps more suited to controlled performances where he has more time on the ball, as we saw against Barnsley. 4
Daniel Lafferty – his forward forays were key to Sheffield United’s better moves in the first half, but he was unable to impose himself in the same way after the break. 4

Samir Carruthers – in the first half, he didn’t shy away from challenges and had one decent pop from range. The game bypassed him after the break, however. 4
John Lundstram – unable to control games in his usual manner, partly due to the nature of the contest. John Fleck should retain his place on this evidence. 3
David Brooks – showed energy and youthful exuberance, helping instigate a semi-fightback in the last 10 minutes. Could do with improving his technique a little, though. 6

Caolan Lavery – Scored the consolation goal, though it is debatable whether he meant to shoot. Until then he couldn’t quite get into the game, not helped by his lack of pace and power. 3
Ched Evans – didn’t hold onto the ball for long enough to allow the midfielders to get close to him. Snatched at the one chance he did get in the first half. 3

Billy Sharp (on 62) – his over-zealous pressing when he first came on was not in tune with his teammates and Leicester exploited the resultant gaps for their second. 4
Chris Basham (on 68) – had a tough time, one Franco Baresi-esque run aside. 4
Paul Coutts (on 68) – opened things up for Sheffield United with his clever movement and sharp passing. 6

Leicester City

Ben Hamer – a lot of shots were straight at him. Ironically, the goal and most testing effort he faced was not intended to be a shot. He’ll be disappointed not to keep a clean sheet. 5

Daniel Amartey – struggled to shut out Sheffield United’s left-sided threat in the first half but looked more solid in the second, when his passing also improved. 6
Harry Maguire – a typically composed display from the centre-back upon his return to his motherland. Got the reception he deserved when taken off. 8
Christian Fuchs – adjusted smoothly to the centre-back role and fared well against Evans for the first hour. 7
Ben Chilwell – some lung-busting runs saw him move into the final third on various occasions. There were signs though that his defensive imperfections remain and could undergo closer scrutiny against higher-quality opposition. 5

Ahmed Musa – in the first half he made some good runs thanks to his pace, but they were almost always let down by his poor first touch. He didn’t lose heart though and deserved his goal at the end of an improved second half. 6
Wilfred Ndidi – did well to keep a lid on the midfield for much of the game, despite the space between the front four and back four. His swift closing down helped skew Sheffield United’s final ball and it may not be a complete coincidence that Leicester came under pressure after he left the pitch. 8
Andy King – was briefly bypassed for a spell midway through the first half but steadily improved and played an excellent pass in behind for Slimani to score the second goal. 7
Demarai Gray – always looked to get close to other forwards and get between the lines with his bright runs. His end product was limited in the first half, but he soon moved up a gear in that regard. 8

Islam Slimani – dropped into midfield at times and linked play well. Scored Leicester’s second and could have grabbed a hat-trick but for the offside flag. 9
Leonardo Ulloa – doesn’t get enough credit for his second half performance. Played a Crossfield pass for Gray’s opener, then won the aerial ball that allowed King to play in Slimani and was there making decoy runs for the last two goals. An underrated display. 8

Nampalys Mendy (on 77) – looked a tad rusty – his arrival might have had something to do with the home side’s late rally. 4
Josh Knight (on 81) – produced an outstanding block in the closing stages that denied the Blades a shot on target. 6