Winning the first game was a good start for both Leicester City and Ranieri.

Moreover, the Chelsea team doctor incident has left most of the media with no time to pay attention to them.

This also allows the team not to be affected by too much public opinion or influence, and can prepare for the game with peace of mind.

In the second round of the Premier League, the Blue Foxes came to Upton Park in the east end of London to challenge the owner here - the "Hammers" West Ham United!

This season's Hammers, like Leicester City, have undergone a change of coach.

Sam "Big Sam" Allardyce stepped down and Croatian Slavin Bilic took over as the new leader of the Hammers.

Last season's twelfth place made the owner of West Ham United, who sat in the London ball market, very unhappy.

In addition to the change of coach, the team also introduced a number of powerful players in the summer window.

For example, Marseille's French international Payet, Juventus's black central defender Ogbonna, Nottingham Forest's big center Antonio, etc., also loaned Chelsea's Victor Moses, Barcelona's Alexander Song, and Argentina's rising star Lanzini.

The improvement of the team's squad strength, coupled with the BUFF of changing coaches, allowed the Hammers to defeat Arsenal in the first round of the league.

In previous years, Arsenal usually started to drop the chain after Christmas.

Ling Feng didn't expect that in the first round of the league, Arsenal began to drop the chain.

No, it's not about the chain, it's just getting on the bike and finding that the tires are flat!

They were able to beat defending champions Chelsea in the Community Shield and suffer a shock defeat to West Ham United in the league.

Too many young people and instability may be the biggest problem for this Gunners under Arsene Wenger!

Coming to the away game, Ranieri still continued the starting lineup from the previous round, and there was no change in any position.

The idea for him and the Foxes coaching staff is to look at the players' form in a few games at the beginning of the season to determine the regular main lineup.

And the process of the game was beyond their expectations.

The Hammers, who were fighting at home, launched wave after wave of attack against Leicester City, wearing white jerseys, in the cheers of the fans as soon as they came up.

Among them, the French international Payet, who just transferred from Marseille in the summer window, quickly became the commander of the Hammers with his wide vision and passing skills.

His passing arrangement, combined with striker Sako's pace and impact, put a huge strain on Leicester's backline.

Ranieri's response was to have Inle keep an eye on Payet and force him to move to the wing.

As a result, he can't pass the penetrating ball behind him, and can only take a high cross.

And the Blue Foxes' backline, the most fearless way to pass the ball, is a high ball cross!

However, such a tactical arrangement is very targeted.

However, the actual effect still depends on the execution of the players.

Perhaps because of his self-proclaimed identity, or his playing habits in the Swiss national team and Napoli, as well as the decline in his physical function, Inle is not willing to be a full-time defensive "blue collar"

In the last game, in the face of the weaker Black Cats, he often left the defensive position and stepped in to participate in the attack.

Even in the team's tactics, Ranieri strictly insisted that the two midfielders should not provide assists.

And in this game, in the face of Ranieri's advice, his defensive enthusiasm is also average.

He interfered with Payet twice, did not let him lose the ball, and was even inadvertently pierced by Payet.

Seeing that Paye was about to pass by him, he had no choice but to put him down with his feet.

It was this set-piece opportunity just outside the box that gave Payet the chance to showcase his free-kick footwork.

It's about 22 meters away from the goal, just right for a direct goal.

Even with four celebrity walls standing in front of him, even Schmeichel Jr. made a move in advance.

But the quality of Payet's curling ball is very high.

Kankan went around the top of the wall, and also skimmed past Schmeichel's fingertips and drilled into the near corner of the goal!

Twenty-three minutes into the first half, West Ham took the lead at Upton Park!

conceded the first goal away from home, except for Schmeichel Jr., who looked helpless, and Inle, who was a little annoyed, whether it was Ling Feng, Vardy, or Morgan and other players, there was no anxiety or apprehension on their faces.

Because, after a season of the Premier League, they already have a clear understanding of themselves and the team's fighting power.

They know very well in their hearts that they are absolutely capable of equalizing the score and even overtaking it!

So, after kicking off again, they continued to play according to Ranieri's tactics.

Seeing that the Blue Foxes were not as aggressive and crazy as last season, the Hammers players who thought they had instigated took the opportunity to control the ball forward, gradually pressing the formation forward, trying to score another goal and expand the score.

However, this is exactly what Ranieri is trying to lure the enemy into!

Just ten minutes later, in the middle of a forward pass, Ling Feng anticipated Alexander Song's pass to Payet, accelerated suddenly, and stretched out his leg to intercept the pass.

In the next second, the Blue Foxes didn't lift their heads, and sent a long over-the-top pass that was extremely ecstatic and hoisted behind the West Ham backline.

And the whole formation was pressed in an all-round way, so that the defence was only left with a lagging central defender, Reid.

Oops!

While his heart was fragrant, he could only immediately turn around and chase back.

However, there is someone who is faster than him!

A blue figure rushed towards the ball at a breakneck speed!

Under everyone's incredulous gaze, Vardy used his excellent core strength and speed to squeeze away more than 80 kilograms of hammer central defender Reid in the high-speed run, and then led half a body and took the lead to get the ball.

At the same time, goalkeeper Adrian also abandoned the goal, opening his arms to increase the defensive area as much as possible.

Vardy's instinct as a shooter didn't make him hesitate, but stabbed the ball from Adrian's left armpit into the empty goal behind him!

"The ball is in!!"

"It's Ling Feng's connection with Vardy again!"

"The Blue Foxes equalised!"

With this goal, the two sides continued to attack and defend each other in the first half.

West Ham had more possession and had more of an advantage, while Payet made a number of dangerous passes.

The slightly slower Inle was a little embarrassed by him, and after several fouls, he finally received the first yellow card of the game.

In the end, with the referee's whistle, the two sides returned to the dressing room with a score of 1-1.

And after the break, back on the pitch again, the situation did not change much.

Seeing that Payet continued to be able to calmly take the ball and organize passes in the front court, while Inle, who was carrying a yellow card, could only retreat step by step, and even had to let Brother Shui come over to help, so that there was a bigger gap in the middle defense.

Ranieri, who was on the sidelines, frowned, turned around without hesitation, and pointed to Kante on the bench:

"Ngolo, go warm up!"

Hearing this, Kante jumped up and ran to the sideline to warm up.

In the 62nd minute, N'Golo Kante replaced Inle again.

As he stood on the sidelines and was about to play, Ranieri put his arms around Kante like a child and whispered in his ear:

"After you go up, stare that 27th for me!!"

Kante's response was a serious nod.

With N'Golo Kante on the pitch, the situation changed immediately.

Kante followed Payet like a piece of kraft candy, and he couldn't shake it off.

Last season, in Ligue 1, Payet played against N'Golo Kante.

At that time, he was guarded to death by this little-known black boy.

But he didn't expect that this kid would stubbornly come to the Premier League together?!

West Ham United's four midfielders, in addition to Payet, the three midfielders behind him, Kouyate, Alexander Song and Noble are all sapper-type midfielders with average organizational skills.

With the core of the team frozen, West Ham's attack instantly became a headless fly.

On the contrary, with N'Golo Kante's terrifying sweep in the midfield, the Blue Foxes repeatedly grabbed the ball and launched a quick counterattack!

Seventy-three minutes, after Kante broke the ball again, he handed the ball to the drinking brother.

The latter played a long diagonal pass and found Mahrez on the right.

Riyad Mahrez drove the ball forward at high speed down the right and then made a boggling feint to cut inside past the full-back before slotting into the far corner.

One to two!

With Mahrez overtaking the score, West Ham United's attack became more impatient and the formation was pressed higher.

And this also gave the Blue Foxes more opportunities to fight back

In the 85th minute, Ling Feng took a corner kick and passed the ball to the head of the substitute Argentine Ulloa, and shook the header to put the ball into the goal, which also completely ended the suspense of the game!

In this game, Kante, who played less than 30 minutes, contributed three tackles, two clearances, and three interceptions of amazing defensive statistics.

and directly froze Payer, the organizational core of the Hammer Gang.

And his game heat map covers the entire midfield!

Although the best player in the game is still Ling Feng, who gave two assists.

However, Kante still scored the fourth-highest score of 7.35 after the game, second only to the Blue Foxes!

Commentators and commentators who watched the whole game can see that it was after Kante came on the pitch that the Blue Foxes stabilized the defense of the midfield through their own active sweeping.

It was only then that Mahrez counterattacked to overtake the score that allowed the Blue Foxes to get more great opportunities in the second half of the game.

As a result, after the game, many Blue Foxes fans who know the ball began to comment on the club's official website, calling on Ranieri to start Kante.

And the effect of Inle's start in the first two games did not satisfy Ranieri.

The Swiss captain has a good defensive position on the field, but from time to time he can't resist his inner desire to attack and unconsciously leaves his defensive area.

Moreover, with years of experience in Serie A, he has adapted to the slow-paced attack and defense of Serie A, and when he comes to the faster and more intense Premier League, he always feels half a beat slower.

In Ranieri's defensive tactics, whether it is a positional attack or a quick counterattack, the number of troops invested is only four people in the front.

It mainly relies on the tacit understanding between the frontcourt players to intersperse the running position, and the dribbling and flash of inspiration of individual ability to solve the problem.

Thankfully, he has the most chance-creating attacking midfielder in the Premier League, as well as winger Riyad Mahrez, who is in the top five in the Premier League, and striker Jamie Vardy, who is currently the number one in shot conversion rate.

In Lineker's words on Twitter:

"This trident combination can destroy the backline of all teams in the Premier League!"

Although there is an ingredient to blow.

However, many people agreed.

Therefore, the team's two midfielders do not need to participate in the attack at all, but stay in the midfield to form a second line of defense to prevent the opponent from counterattacking.

Therefore, based on the performance of the first two games, coupled with the strong voice of the fans, the day before the third round of the Premier League against Tottenham, Ranieri announced the team's starting lineup.

N'Golo Kante unsurprisingly replaced Inle and partnered Andy King in midfield.

In addition to N'Golo Kante, left-back Fuchs also got his first league start for the Foxes.

Schlupp, who can play as a full-back and winger, was pushed to the left winger position.

Although in the past two league games, Albrighton's performance on the left side is obvious to all.

However, the league is a long war.

What you fight is the thickness of the lineup, the willpower, and the medical level of the team

In addition, the upcoming league, League Cup, and Europa League are about to be played on three fronts, and there will definitely be a rotation of the lineup.

Therefore, the substitute players in the team did not feel like sitting on the bench, but secretly vowed in their hearts that they must perform well in training and limited playing time, so as to strive for more opportunities to play!

Compared with the two consecutive victories of the Spring Breeze, beating Manchester City and Manchester United, and continuing to be at the top of the standings, the other team in the Premier League wearing a blue jersey is having a hard time.

Perhaps affected by the team doctor incident, Chelsea, who came to Manchester in the second round of the Premier League, lost a 3-0 cleanly under the boos of the Etihad Stadium!

The defending champions' winless run of the opening two games has cast a visible shadow over Jose Mourinho's third year in charge of Chelsea

No one could have imagined that the pre-season favourites would be in such poor form.

However, most people agree that Chelsea's decline will not last long.

After all, the strength and lineup of the team are there, and it will soon rebound strongly.

At the same time, most of the media and football experts also believe that Leicester City's hot form at the beginning of the season is also short-lived.

Last season, the Blue Foxes, who returned to the Premier League, also had a very ferocious start.

Moreover, the opponents in the first two rounds of the game are of average strength, Sunderland is a relegation team, and West Ham United is only a mid-table team.

Isn't it normal that these two teams can't beat the Blue Foxes, who finished fifth in the league last season?

It is worth mentioning that the early fixtures of the Premier League this season are very friendly for the Blue Foxes.

The opponents in the first five rounds of the league, except for Tottenham in the third round, which can be regarded as a strong team, are all middle and lower teams.

The lack of quality in the early stages of the season also gave Ranieri time to settle into new tactics and new signings.

And everyone thinks that the White Hart Lane youth army led by Pochettino is the first test of the Blue Foxes this season!

(End of chapter)