How we scored the Leicester City players as Marti Cifuentes’ men nearly come from three goals down to claim a point, with Stephy Mavididi and Jordan James getting the goals
14:45, 29 Nov 2025Updated 15:12, 29 Nov 2025
Jordan James of Leicester City celebrates after scoring the team’s second goal against Sheffield United
Leicester City fell short of an unlikely fightback as a dreadful first half proved too much to overcome in their defeat to Sheffield United.
Stephy Mavididi and Jordan James netted after the break to spark hopes that City could clinch a point. But a third goal was beyond them, the Blades doing the damage in the first half.
City started hopelessly, conceding twice in the opening four minutes to former striker Tom Cannon and then Jairo Riedewald, with Sydie Peck putting the Blades three to the good at the break.
Fans were in a mutinous mood and turning on Marti Cifuentes, but City came out with some fight after the break, albeit gave themselves too much to do.
The loss means they remain in the bottom half and could end the weekend closer in points to the relegation zone than the automatic promotion spots.
After trailing 3-0 at half-time in midweek, Cifuentes said his team’s response would define. Once again, they trailed 3-0 at the interval.
It took just 64 seconds for Cannon to come back and haunt City. Sold for £10m in January, he’d had a difficult time with Blades until this week, with a goal in the Steel City Derby helping him to finally find his feet.
He and the rest of the Blades looked much more energetic and motivated and capitalised on a series of City errors.
Stephy Mavididi gave the ball away, Luke Thomas was nutmegged, and then after Ricardo Pereira blocked one effort, Harry Winks miskicked his clearance. Cannon rifled the loose ball through Asmir Begovic’s legs.
Barely two minutes later, they had doubled their lead. City twice failed to clear a corner with conviction and Callum O’Hare’s volley back in flicked off Jairo Riedewald and nestled into the bottom corner.
City’s response saw them play some decent one-touch football, but they utterly lacked ideas and threat when they got to the final third. It quickly went flat again.
And then they were punished. Again they didn’t clear convincingly from a corner and again they left a man on the edge free, although they could hardly have predicted such a stunning strike from Peck, who caught his volley sweetly, the ball dipping into the far corner.
Boos had been ringing out around the King Power Stadium at various moments in the first half and then when the visiting fans started chanting “you’re getting sacked in the morning” at Cifuentes, some City supporters joined in.
A second-half fightback felt nigh-on impossible given the events of the first period, but to try to change the game, Cifuentes made a triple substitution, bringing on Boubakary Soumare, Jordan Ayew and Oliver Skipp, the latter playing at centre-back with Wout Faes taking a blow to the face at the end of the first half.
City, to their credit, immediately showed more verve and positivity and they had one back in the 53rd minute, Mavididi heading in Abdul Fatawu’s deep cross after Michael Cooper came and failed to catch.
Cifuentes’ men continued to push and their domination had fans sensing an unlikely comeback might be on.
Jannik Vestergaard nearly bundled in, with Riedewald clearing near the line, and then James did find the net, his swerving 25-yard effort catching Cooper out.
City had 10 minutes to get a third, but they could not muster any clear-cut chances, the Blades taking the points. Here’s how we scored the players.
Asmir Begovic: He won’t like that the first goal went through his legs and he seemed slow to dive for the second, but it can’t really be said that he was at fault for either. He didn’t actually have many saves to make beyond that. He got lucky with one poor pass late on. 4
Ricardo Pereira: Much better. He blocked O’Hare’s effort well in the lead-up to the first goal and was strong generally in defence, showing composure in dangerous moments. He was at the heart of the good attacking play as well, picking up great positions. Some simple passes did go astray though. 7
Wout Faes: He lacked conviction in his clearances and that proved costly for the second goal, as he could only head straight to O’Hare. He was in the right place to clear a few more crosses and avert danger, but his presence frustrated supporters. Taken off at half-time after a blow to the face. 4
Jannik Vestergaard: He fouled Cannon way too often in the first half and his lofted passes put team-mates in trouble. But he was much, much improved in the second period, pinging passes around the park. 6
Luke Thomas: He had a ropey first half in which he was beaten easily by Seriki for the opening goal, and he then seemed to move the ball far too slowly, meaning he was caught in possession a few times. He was solid enough in the second period though and joined the attack when he could. 4
Harry Winks: A wild miskick led to the first goal and he never quite got to grips with the game thereafter, albeit he played some nice one-touch passes during City’s better spells. There were too many passes that zipped by him too and allowed Sheffield United to attack City. 4
Jordan James: He was one of the few City players who looked up for it from the first whistle and he maintained those energy levels through the 90 to make City a much better attacking threat in the second half. He connected well with Fatawu and Ricardo, made good forward runs and then struck excellently for his goal, the swerve beating Cooper. 8
Bobby De Cordova-Reid: There were some nice touches in the first half, but he wasn’t involved enough. In the second period, he featured more heavily, and connected play reasonably well without creating any truly dangerous moments. 6
Abdul Fatawu: He moved the ball about with James and Ricardo well and he delivered the cross for Mavididi’s goal, but he still frustrated often, running into trouble and not finding blue shirts with his balls into the box. 5
Patson Daka: He just wasn’t involved in the game at all. There were a couple of poor touches when he dropped deep to get the ball as well. It’s a shame that he does not seem to have kicked on since his goal last weekend. 3
Stephy Mavididi: He gave the ball away for the first goal but that was his only poor moment in another strong outing. He attacked his man, showing moments of great dribbling, worked back well and then gambled on a deep cross to score the first City goal. 7
Oliver Skipp: He filled in manfully at centre-back, working hard defensively and passing the ball well out from the back. City were on the front foot and so there were not too many defensive moments for him to deal with, but he still coped well. 7
Boubakary Soumare: He helped change the game. He provided a level of control in midfield, moving the ball with confidence and made great choices on the ball, knowing when to go short and when to go long. Really good. 8
Jordan Ayew: He did hold the ball up well, although was maybe too negative when he offloaded it. As an attacking threat, he didn’t offer much. 5
Jeremy Monga: It was his first appearance in a while and he looked a little rusty. He couldn’t beat his full-back with much regularity. 5
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