Dean Smith admitted he did not see Leicester’s poor first-half performance coming as they were beaten 5-3 by Fulham at Craven Cottage to plunge them deeper into relegation trouble.
The visitors were overrun before the break by Marco Silva’s side, with Leicester – porous and disorganised in defence – allowing Fulham to rip into them and build a three-goal lead by half-time.
Willian and Tom Cairney both hit braces either side of the interval whilst Carlos Vinicius also netted to affirm the home side’s dominance, with two second-half goals from Harvey Barnes and a James Maddison penalty lending a respectability to the score that did not reflect Leicester’s frailties.
It leaves Smith’s side in serious danger of being relegated from the Premier League with three games remaining, and he said: “The game was lost in the first half.
“The performance in the first half was nowhere near what it has been and what the players can produce.
“I’m disappointed because I didn’t see that coming. We’d had a good week in training, good attitude, good application, good quality.
“I expected a far better performance and a better start to the game than we got. At this level, if you give the kind of goals away that we gave away it’s going to be an uphill battle.
“I don’t like basketball games, I don’t think it suits us given the fact we haven’t kept a clean sheet for so long.
“The first goal was really disappointing, a soft free-kick and it goes straight in. From there you could see the buoyancy in their players.
“It was far too easy to get into our penalty box and create chances. We were quite happy to get in at half time to try and stem the flow.
“I wasn’t happy (at half-time), the players weren’t happy with their performance as well. We started the second half better, had a chance early on then got done on the counter-attack ourselves.”
It ended a three-game unbeaten run for Leicester which had seen them rise to 16th, but with only a point separating four threatened sides at the start of play the Foxes could ill afford to make the kind of start the travelling fans witnessed.
Their woeful first half means no amount of effort after the break was likely to rescue the game, though the team did at least make a fight of the final 10 minutes with two late goals.
By then they already trailed 5-1, and now face an uphill struggle in their final three games against Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham if they are to avoid dropping into the Sky Bet Championship for the first time since 2014.
“We had a reaction (in the second half), said Smith. “We got some chances, had two penalties, we’ve scored three goals. I think we’ve had more shots than Fulham today, but the first half is what’s killed the game.
“I was certainly very worried in the first half today. It got better in the second half. That’s the first time I’ve seen (a lack of fight) with these players. I hope I don’t see that again and I’m sure I won’t.
“I can’t talk for the players but what I saw on the training ground this week, I thought we would be ready for this game. But the game was never going to be a given, any game in the Premier League is tough.
“I believe there is (enough quality to survive). There are signs I had seen prior to the first half today that they’re good enough. The first half certainly was a step backwards, the second half was a step forwards again. We have to make sure we put in a 90-minute performance next week.”
Fulham boss Silva felt the two-goal margin of victory for his side did not represent the gulf in class between the teams.
“We were the best team on the pitch, no doubt about it,” he said. “We should have won this game much more comfortably. Great moments of football, great goals. From the first minute we were the team that started to command.
“We started really intensely with desire, the will and quality to play. The dynamic we played in the first half and beginning of the second, I was really pleased to see it, the way the players expressed themselves on the pitch.”
Vancouver Whitecaps v Austin FC: Sartini hails 'special' White ahead of enticing BC Place meeting
Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini labelled Brian White as a "special" player ahead of Sunday's enticing MLS meeting with Austin FC at BC Place.
The Whitecaps are third in the Western Conference after a 1-1 draw with New York Red Bulls last time out, completing a fine April that saw them lose just one of four matches.
Whitecaps forward White scored in that draw and may get somewhat of a hero's welcome at a packed-out BC Place after becoming Vancouver's all-time leading scorer.
"I'm really happy he could make history here at home in front of his family, in front of his friends," Sartini said of White, who moved past Camilo Sanvezzo as the club's all-time leading scorer.
"It adds a special, special flair to that, so I'm really happy for him.
"He's a player so committed that it doesn't matter if he misses a goal, or he scores the first goal, or if he misses the first touch because he's going to adjust."
Sartini even suggested his coaching has improved White, albeit in a playful manner.
"I think he scored 99% of the goals with me as a coach, so I can even tell that maybe that it's [to] my credit," he joked. "Because I put him in the right position."
Austin are just two points but four places behind Vancouver in the West after winning four of their last five outings, having swept aside LA Galaxy 2-0 in their last match.
Verde and Black head coach Josh Wolff is not getting overly excited with that form, though.
"It's 10 games into the season so we don't get carried away," Wolff said. "When you guys [the media] are slaughtering us earlier this year, I don't get too bummed out.
"You guys do what you do. You got to pump out headlines and you got to get readers, I understand it. Whether I agree with that or not, that's what you guys choose to do."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
With a goal against the Red Bulls on Saturday, White has contributed to at least one goal in six straight matches, the longest streak by a Whitecaps player in the club’s MLS history.
The 28-year-old has found the net – or assisted – in every game since failing to do so against San Jose Earthquakes on March 10, with the Whitecaps reaping the rewards from their star forward.
Austin FC – Brad Stuver
Austin have kept clean sheets in two straight matches for only the second time in club history, also doing so in June-July 2023.
Austin kept just one clean sheet in the 25 matches in all competitions between the two streaks and their upturn in form should be somewhat credited to goalkeeper Brad Stuver, who continues to impress.
MATCH PREDICTION – VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN
The Whitecaps are the heavy favourites for this one, having won four of their six meetings with Austin FC (D1 L1), including recording victories in all three meetings between the sides at BC Place.
Vancouver have also equalled their best nine-match start in club history with 17 points, yet the Whitecaps have never reached the 20-point mark within their first 10 games of an MLS season.
It will be far from a routine victory, though, as Austin have won four of their last five matches (L1) following a 2-0 win over the Galaxy, including the last two in a row.
Austin have had only one winning streak longer than two games in all competitions in club history, a four-match run in June-July 2022 – but that could come to an end here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Vancouver Whitecaps win – 46.7%
Austin FC win – 27.2%
Draw – 26.1%
Real Salt Lake v Sporting Kansas City: Mastroeni lauds team effort of Western Conference leaders
Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni credited the collective effort of his league-leading side as they prepare to host Sporting Kansas City at America First Field for Sunday's MLS clash.
Salt Lake sit atop of the Western Conference table after a six-game undefeated streak, having overcome Philadelphia Union 2-1 in their last outing.
Alexandros Katranis provided a remarkable 89th-minute winner in that victory over the Union, with RSL not losing an MLS game since March 9 against Colorado Rapids.
"I think it is everything so far, every aspect of the team has been competitive – sometimes the offense clicks, sometimes it is the defense," Mastroeni said.
"For me, it is really the collective; from the staff, to the players, to me and the work we do every day. Scoring the first goal has been really important for us in most of the games.
"Defensively we have been a really good team, it starts at the top, though. We're getting a lot of great contributions from all around the pitch.
"When you tie that all together, we've got a great group firing on all cylinders."
Peter Vermes' Wizards were defeated 2-1 by Minnesota United in their last match, leaving them 10th in the West with just 11 points to their name after 10 games.
Kansas City head coach Vermes knows another difficult task awaits on the road this weekend.
"They are the best team in the West at the moment," Vermes said of RSL.
"They are always a tough defensive team. With the strike power they have up front, we will have to be focused and concentrated, it will be a tough match for us."
Vermes' high praise of Salt Lake comes as no surprise given Mastroeni's men have only conceded nine times this season – a joint-low in MLS.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango
Cristian Arango has 16 goal contributions through 10 matches this season, equalling the most in a player’s first 10 appearances of a season in MLS history (Carlos Vela in 2019, Cobi Jones in 1998).
With eight goals in just 10 appearances so far this term, the Real Salt Lake star has already surpassed his six strikes in 2023 – and will hope to further his tally here.
Sporting Kansas City – Johnny Russell
Johnny Russell has scored six goals in 13 career MLS matches against Real Salt Lake (also considering playoffs), including scoring at least once against RSL in each of the last five seasons.
The Scottish winger is yet to score in league competition this year, though, failing to find the net in any of his seven appearances – though Russell has only played 90 minutes twice in that run.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
It will be hard to split these two sides with a draw appearing probable, despite the Opta supercomputer suggesting Real Salt Lake have the likelier chance of victory.
Sporting have never recorded back-to-back victories when visiting Salt Lake in all competitions, though they did win the last meeting between these two sides 3-2 in October.
SKC may have also lost their last outing but they have not suffered consecutive defeats across all competitions since April 2023, avoiding defeat in the match following each of its previous 14 losses (W10 D4).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake win – 45.5%
Sporting Kansas City win – 26.8%
Draw – 27.7%
Hoffenheim 1-1 RB Leipzig: Kramaric denies visitors after Simons red card
Andrej Kramaric scored a last-minute equaliser to deny RB Leipzig victory in Friday's 1-1 Bundesliga draw at Hoffenheim, in a game which saw Xavi Simons sent off.
Simons was shown his second yellow card with 18 minutes to play, with fourth-placed Leipzig 1-0 up courtesy of Benjamin Sesko's first-half header.
Marco Rose's team looked set to leapfrog Stuttgart into third ahead of Saturday's fixtures, but Kramaric – who had earlier been denied by a huge double save from Peter Gulasci – salvaged a point for the hosts with stoppage time mere seconds away.
While Leipzig missed the chance to move eight points clear of fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund, both teams will be playing Champions League football next season after Germany clinched a top-two place in UEFA's coefficient rankings this week.
Data Debrief: Flying full-back creates again
David Raum assisted Sesko's opener with a pinpoint cross, the eighth goal he has teed up in the Bundesliga this season. Seven of those have been headers, a joint-high tally among all players, alongside Borussia Monchengladbach's Franck Honorat.
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