Leicester convincingly beat Swansea

The hard-fought performance of the "supporting players" in attack, along with the inspiration of Riyad Mahrez, helped Leicester convincingly defeat Swansea.

Swansea had already secured their survival in the league, and their lack of determination allowed Leicester to have an easier game than expected. In the 10th minute, a careless pass from Ashley Williams gave Riyad Mahrez an opportunity, and the home star didn't miss. Twenty minutes later, Danny Drinkwater delivered a superb free-kick, allowing Leonardo Ulloa to head home a powerful header past Lukasz Fabianski.

Trailing by two goals in the first half, the already low morale of the Swansea players plummeted. They were constantly harassed on the left wing by Claudio Ranieri's "strategic substitute," Jeff Schlupp. In the 60th minute, the English winger's powerful run led to Ulloa's second goal. In the final minutes, Leicester added another goal through substitute Marc Albrighton.

Mahrez proved his star quality when the team needed him most. Photo: Reuters.

In this match, Ranieri made two changes to the starting lineup he had used for almost three months. The absence of Jamie Vardy was unavoidable, but the Italian manager surprised everyone by starting Jeff Schlupp on the left wing while Marc Albrighton was on the bench. Vardy's replacement was Leonardo Ulloa, a player with good physique and physical strength. Logically, Ranieri should have continued using Albrighton to utilize the former Aston Villa midfielder's trademark crosses.

But Ranieri wanted Schlupp's speed and strength, and that paid off. In reality, the 23-year-old's dribbling skills are not yet perfected. His touches are still somewhat cumbersome and often lead to dead ends. But whenever Schlupp has the ball, the Swansea defense has to assign at least two players to mark him. This is because he is strong, fast, and very confident. Starting Schlupp was a tactical success for Ranieri in this match.

Starting Schlupp (in the blue shirt) was the right decision by Ranieri. Photo: Reuters.

Furthermore, Riyad Mahrez's timely brilliance was also a crucial factor in Leicester's victory. Vardy's absence might not have been such a concern if Mahrez had been in good form in recent weeks. The last time the Algerian midfielder scored was against Crystal Palace back in March. However, with a clever move to outmaneuver Ashley Williams, Mahrez helped Leicester demoralize the Swansea players, causing them to collapse in the remaining minutes.

Leonardo Ulloa, playing the "leading role" in Vardy's place, kept his promise to score, even netting two goals, making a significant contribution to his team's victory. The Argentinian striker wasn't particularly outstanding on the pitch. But he did exactly what Ranieri needed and in his own style: being in the right place at the right time, heading, tapping in, and scoring.

This victory extended Leicester's lead over Tottenham to eight points ahead of the London side's late match against West Brom on Tuesday morning.

According to VNE