Its mental fatigue more than anything. Their final 3 games are difficult so its vital they do not start to wobble now.
If they start tumbling down from first place it would be very difficult to pick up momentum again
Leicester's next 6 fixtures
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If they start tumbling down from first place it would be very difficult to pick up momentum again
On the bright side United and and Chelsea will have nothing to play for and might not do Arsenal/City a favour
I think every game from here will be difficult. The relegation chasm looms.
That said, it's hard seeing them drop out of top 4.
I don't think this loss will affect them much. They lost due to 2 stupid decisions by two different defensive players. Simpson firstly, and then that substitute (who I shan't say his name as I'll butcher his spelling) who conceded that stupid freekick at the end there.
Any team would have struggled to hold on to a 1-0 lead while going down to 10 men. They have a week off, they'll come back now with a string of rather straight forward games ahead of them. I doubt anyone expected them to come out of a string of consecutive Liverpool, City and Arsenal games with 6 points.
Any team would have struggled to hold on to a 1-0 lead while going down to 10 men. They have a week off, they'll come back now with a string of rather straight forward games ahead of them. I doubt anyone expected them to come out of a string of consecutive Liverpool, City and Arsenal games with 6 points.
They've essentially got the next 6 weeks playing mid table sides only. Champions League should be wrapped up if they carry on the way they're going. As well as that Arsenal have visits to us, Everton, West Ham and Spurs coming up. Likewise City have it tough too.
I still don't think they'll win it. That said, they couldn't ask for an easier fixture to get back on track than Norwich at home. The games after that don't get much harder, although I reckon they'll drop points where it's not expected, maybe against West Brom at home.
While Arsenal, City and Spurs will win all their games? Those three teams are all yet to play each other and are therefore guaranteed several points dropped, Leicester however have played them all.
Leicester are playing teams they've already beaten this season. They have been ruthless vs mid/low table teams. If Leicester are capable of dropping points vs WBA then who's to say Arsenal won't drop points vs Everton or someone?
I said before their last two games that they will have a good chance of winning the league even if they lose both. They got full 3 points at City and were very unlucky today. I don't think they are so fragile mentally to go on a losing streak because of one loss.
They've only got 3 losses all season. Arsenal x2 and Liverpool. I think they'll be fine against the midtable/relegation teams. Bound to drop points here and there but Arsenal and City aren't perfect either.
I still believe
I still believe
Unlucky today. Still think it is far from over for their title hopes.
People are expecting Leicester collapse because they are Leicester not a huge club. They just lost to Arsenal because of some dodgy refereeing, due to last second goal. This is not a sign of a team that has zero chance of winning the league. They are comfortably the best team in the league now and if they continue their form for the next 11 fixtures, they will be champions.
Of course, why would it be? Top of the league, the most favorable fixture list, the best form and the best side in England for the past 6 months. Why would it be over? I am genuinely shocked why some people would think it's over for them. Makes zero sense.
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Fabrice Muamba, calm down now...
Kante is a very good player regardless. Should go to the Euros this summer.
That and no European/FA Cup football either.
It's mostly people thinking about the psychological aspect of things, but I don't think it'll harm Leicester. A good win against Norwich should make things right.
They drew against Bournemouth and Villa so the 'easy' games might not be so easy.
Last week they won and they were expected to collapse because of incredible pressure of being favourites for the title, the win against City was apparently the worst thing that could have happened to them. Now apparently losing to Arsenal is the worst thing ever.
Very unlucky against Bournemouth to be fair, these games happen. I think they will be fully focused on the title now, every game will be cup final.
What cost them today is 2 stupid mistakes from average individuals. For all of their team cohesion and chemistry they are still made up of less than top players.
Individuals bricking it or crumbling under pressure they never felt before is a real possibility.
Pressure now is being 0-0 on the hour v Norwich knowing you have to win or falling behind v Palace early in the second half. In December you continue playing your game but what if plan A isnt working in March? Have they even shown much of a plan B?
The narrative is: A team who hasn't been in a PL title race before collapsing under the pressure of expectation and dropping a lot of points in the run-in.
I'm not convinced it is as big a factor as it is made out to be.
Yup. Last time they lost to Arsenal they went on to win 8 of their next 10 and those fixtures were much worse than what they will be facing now. This was a freak result more than anything else. 11v11 they would not be forced to sub their best player. Leicester keep creating opportunities and they wouldn't be under the constant pressure they were facing 10v11.
Expecting them to collapse is nonsense really. They have two weeks to charge their batteries until the next game. In the meantime Arsenal and City play two games in two different competitions, Spurs play three. This is such a massive advantage on the other teams. I fully expect Leicester to sit top of the table when they visit OT in GW36.
Their fixture list is pretty easy. There are not many good teams in there. Chelsea have begun to play some good football so that may be their hardest game. The rest of the teams are all average to terrible.
arsenal defeat doesn't really hurt them in the long run unless they're psychologically affected by that loss for some reason
and given that last time they lost to arsenal they won 8 of their next 10 games (as Samid pointed out) it shouldn't affect them too much. Or I hope anyways.
and given that last time they lost to arsenal they won 8 of their next 10 games (as Samid pointed out) it shouldn't affect them too much. Or I hope anyways.
But at no point this season has their plan stopped working. It's 27 games into season and they still have by far the best record in the league. You cannot write them off based on assumptions that have literally zero confirmation in real world. They've been expected to collapse for the last 2 months and have actually done better than before.
What is Arsenal's plan B? City's?
Told you the bubble would burst eventually. White text.
Which team wins all of their games? That's a redundant question.
Leicester are playing teams they've already beaten this season... if football was that simple, betting websites would be out of business pretty soon. That's why I said 'where it's not expected', because that is how football works. Nobody realistically expects them to lose to West Brom, but it would be silly to absolutely rule it out.
You think that opinion stems from Leicester not being a 'huge club'. Not for me. Mine's about simply fancying teams who are still around them. And 'zero chance'? Which moron thinks that.
Even if the don't win the title, they are 12 points clear of us with 12 games to go. I can't see any teams outside the top 4 being consistent enough to catch them.
Leicester in the UCL is still an amazing achievement.
Leicester in the UCL is still an amazing achievement.
I think they missed a penalty in both of those game. Obviously not good to drop points but they were the better side and should have really won both.
Arsenal's subs scored both their goals for a start.
Im not saying they will go on and lose their next 10 games but the pressure is on now when they are expected to win. Playing away v City et all suits their style of play but now when they are playing v teams battling for a point who wont leave themselves open for the counter how will they cope?
Leicester beat all those teams when they had Vardy converting every half chance but they were also conceding to those teams. Its a tough ask for Vardy to do it all again for the next 12 games because thats what theyll need. That was also during the time the league was at its most craziest.. every side throwing caution to the wind which lent itself to end to end displays.
If they play the same starting 11 with no injuries or tiredness and Vardy /Mharez continue their form with Huth scoring from every corner to pick up the slack then they have a great chance.
I also think the league will tighten up when the stakes are raised for the remaining fixtures.
But Arsenal and City have been far more prone to poor performances than Leicester this season. Arsenal have gone on a poor run recently and were very lucky to win today, City were just hammered by Leicester last week. They are top of the league on merit, not luck.
They will drop points but so will teams around them. They're definitely title favourites now and today's game does not change that.
But it's not like they are top because they beat City, they are top because they have done exceptionally well against weaker teams too. I don't think they are so shit that they won't be able to win without Vardy converting every chance, Vardy was hardly at his best for a few weeks recently and they kept on winning.
The quality of teams around them is also somewhat encouraging for their title hopes. Spurs are probably the only team that has been consistently good and deserve a shot at the title. City and Arsenal will have to improve by a large margin.
They lost a game in the last minute against a fellow title contender, while playing with 10 men. The pessimist in me says they won't win the title, but I think it's almost patronising to assume the bubble has burst, unless we expected them to only lose two games throughout the entire season. I'd be surprised if they completely fall away.
What I don't get is how this title pressure force selectively applies to Leicester? Everyone will feel it. It's not like the other teams are Fergie-managed title-winning machines - Arsenal and Spurs are involved FFS
Dodgy refereeing didn't send all decisions our way.
Drinkwater's challenge, Vardy's gamesmanship, and that handball, - all could have gone our way but didn't. The sending off was debatable but he was on a yellow and should've known better than to commit a silly foul like that. To say that we won because of dodgy decisions is quite inaccurate.Arsenal still have to play United, City and Spurs away. They also have the CL coming up as well as the FA cup. Leicester does not have any of this and the easier runs in.
I see Arsenal losing at least 3 from now to the end of the season and not necessarily from the games above, they also have West Ham and Everton away.
I see Arsenal losing at least 3 from now to the end of the season and not necessarily from the games above, they also have West Ham and Everton away.
Not sure if we will lose three but we will drop points in crucial fixtures for sure. One thing going for us is players returning from injury to add depth to the squad. Otherwise it's Leicester's to lose.
I think the red had the biggest impact on the game and was very harsh. They had a penalty call minutes before, they convert that and it's a completely different picture. Bottom line is they were not outplayed or battered, they lost a close contest where they were heavily handicapped by some 50/50 decisions.Dodgy refereeing didn't send all decisions our way.
How can the bubble burst after just a single loss? Their next couple of games will make it clear if they are on a downward spiral or not, a single loss is not that telling.
Mahrez's "penalty call" was not a penalty. Vardy dived but did it like Costa so I don't blame the ref for giving that. You're suggesting that they should've been helped by two dubious decisions instead of the one they got, which I do not agree with. Yes, the red was harsh but the penalty was not fair either.
Bottom line is 11v11 it'd have ended in a 1-1 draw as I don't think they'd have gotten past Cech who showed his class with that epic save at the beginning.
I don't think it'll derail Leicester's season though.
Exactly, 11 v 11 the match would have likely been a draw and this only shows that they are a strong side, not some plucky team who are top due to one run of form. They actually are one of the best teams in the country and not any more likely to drop points against mid-table teams than Arsenal or Spurs.
City have won grand total of zero games against top 4. If they don't beat Spurs today they will find it very tough. I think Spurs are actually the only side who have shown consistency to challenge Leicester and I normally wouldn't mind them winning at all if it wasn't for Glaston.
No he didn't, there was contact.
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