Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans has been speaking to the club’s official website on why he believes they have been incredibly successful so far this season ahead of their Premier League fixture this weekend versus Norwich City.
The Foxes currently sit in second place and the Belgian has heaped praise on Brendan Rodgers and says the foundations built during pre-season have been key to their impressive form.
“I think it’s pretty basic, but I’d say hard work,” said Tielemans when asked about the key to the Foxes success so far. “We’ve worked hard in pre-season, we’ve created a very good bond with the players.
Rodgers or Ranieri?
Ranieri
Rodgers
“[We’ve got] very, very, very good players, very good potential, a very good manager who can create a good atmosphere let’s say, and yes, afterwards it’s just up to us.
“We know what we have to do on the pitch, and we try to keep pushing forward and keep pushing ourselves in training. We work hard and we try and do it on the pitch as well.”
Asked about Rodgers, Tielemans added: “I think he’s the type of manager who tries to adapt himself to the players he has.
“I think it’s very good because he knows what he could create here and that’s what he’s doing at the moment and we are doing very good under him because we try to press forward, to play offensive football and to try and keep the defence very strong.
“At the moment it’s working very well, and we just have to keep it like that.”
TIF Tactics – Stronger than the Champions of 2015/16
The Foxes famously won the Premier League under Claudio Ranieri in the 2015/16 season but the general feeling amongst the clubs adoring fans is that this team are far more talented. It’s unfortunate for Brendan Rodgers that his former employers Liverpool are so strong at present otherwise we could, perhaps, be talking about Leicester City being the favourites for the title.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are flying but they travel to the King Power Stadium on Boxing Day and so if Rodgers’ side remain within touching distance, we could see them close the gap and apply some pressure on the Merseyside club. A top-four finish would be a remarkable achievement let alone finishing runners up – the prospect of Champions League football returning to the East-Midlands is a very real one.
Indeed, Tielemans would be a player that can help achieve a top-four finish though, as the £49.5m-rated ace (TransferMarkt) has been outstanding for the Foxes this season.
According to the figures collected by WhoScored, the Belgium international has managed to achieve an average of 1.1 tackles in his 16 Premier League appearances to date, with 0.6 interceptions to his name as well. However, perhaps his attacking play is what has stood out more, as he has managed three assists and three goals, averaging two shots per game and 1.6 key passes.