Leicester City managed to end their losing streak against Tottenham Hotspur and one player who previously struggled this season played a major role.
Steve Cooper was sacked by Leicester City in November after winning just two of his opening 12 Premier League matches this season.
The former Nottingham Forest man didn’t have the best backing over the summer, but a number of his summer signings have impressed.
Bilal El Khannous has been excellent for Leicester since his transfer from Belgian outfit Genk.
Facundo Buonanotte was a top performer under Cooper as well, though his game time has been reduced under Ruud van Nistelrooy, and the display of one player last week could see the Argentine handed even more of a reduced role going forward.
While some summer additions shone during Cooper’s brief stint in the dugout, one man who really didn’t was Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
De Cordova-Reid joined Leicester on a free transfer from Fulham in July and had a really poor start at Leicester.
Injury saw him miss a couple of games but even when fit, he was rarely selected as a starter and when he was, the forward looked subpar.
However, Van Nistelrooy gave the 31-year-old a rare chance against Tottenham on Sunday and he more than took it.
Vardy and El Khannous stole the show but De Cordova-Reid was excellent and if he can recreate that display in more matches going forward, Leicester’s chances of securing Premier League survival will surely go up.
Van Nistelrooy deployed a surprising front four against Spurs, with De Cordova-Reid starting on the left ahead of Stephy Mavididi.
It proved to be a stroke of genius from the Dutchman, however, as the former Cardiff City ace set up both goals and provided four key passes during his time on the pitch.
Leicester have been lacking goals of late, netting just two in seven before Sunday. But if De Cordova-Reid can continue to create at the level he did against Tottenham, those woes could be over.
There is still the matter of the Foxes’ leaky backline, but one issue at a time.
