Leicester City suffered defeat at Ashton Gate on Friday as Bristol City struck late on to secure a 1-0 victory.
Enzo Maresca‘s side have now lost four of their last six Championship fixtures and dropped down to third in the Championship table, albeit with a game in hand.
They missed multiple big chances to take the game away from the hosts and it was certainly an off-day for the ever-reliable Jamie Vardy.
The veteran centre-forward, who is usually so clinical, squandered three opportunities and had a 1.55 xG on his own, which is pretty remarkable.
It wasn’t just in attack where City came up short, at the back they looked shakey once again and one player was particularly poor.
Wout Faes was a ‘liability’ v Bristol City
Wout Faes has been a colossus for The Foxes this season and is widely considered one of the best defenders in the division.
But at Ashton Gate he looked well below par and Leicestershire Live journalist Jordan Blackwell labelled him a ‘liability’ in his post-match ratings.
“He was a liability in the first half,” Blackwell wrote.
“He did not get tight enough to Conway when defending one-on-ones and was perhaps fortunate to escape punishment for a tug on the attacker’s shorts near the box. His audacious, clipped passes didn’t work either. He did improve in the second half though.”
Faes is usually pretty relaxed in possession and fans will be used to seeing his often laid-back demeanour, but that can sometimes come at the expense of his concentration.
Even in the FA Cup defeat to Chelsea just before the international break, the 25-year-old looked some way off the pace.
His drop-off in performance level will certainly concern Maresca.
Enzo Maresca should consider giving Wout Faes a rest
Faes didn’t get a rest over the international break as he was away with Belgium, featuring in clashes against Ireland and England.
Perhaps the City boss should consider resting him on Monday against play-off hopefuls Norwich City.
With such a quick turnaround, the defender won’t have sufficient time to fully recover, so it wouldn’t at all be surprising if Conor Coady gets the nod.
The £7.5m summer signing has made just six league starts all season but whenever he has appeared, he’s impressed.
Coady has also played a pivotal role in a promotion campaign previously, during his time at Wolves, so he’ll be well-equipped to handle the mounting pressure.
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