Talking points from Leicester City’s 3-1 win over Derby County, looking at their quickfire treble, the second half, Oliver Skipp, Jordan James, and the pressure on Marti Cifuentes
Marti Cifuentes on the touchline during Leicester City’s 3-1 win over Derby County
Marti Cifuentes on the touchline during Leicester City’s 3-1 win over Derby County
How do you bounce back from conceding three goals in 32 minutes? By scoring three goals in 31 minutes in the next game.
After back-to-back capitulations against Southampton and Sheffield United, a steady, goalless first half against Derby would have been welcome. Instead, Leicester City delivered an emphatic response to their recent woes, blowing away the Rams in just over half an hour.
This was the quickest City have taken a 3-0 lead in a game since the 9-0 triumph at Southampton, and while it perhaps won’t live as long in the memory as that famous night, it will go down as the highlight of the season so far.
Usually patient in their forward play, what was most pleasing about City’s quickfire treble was their urgency and directness. The space was there to be exploited and they did not wait for Derby to close the gaps.
City may have lulled Derby into a false sense of superiority. The Rams have the lowest possession in the division, but had more of the ball in the opening stages. They were perhaps then guilty of forgetting to set up properly at the back.
For the first goal, once Ricardo Pereira had pinched possession, there were three passes from City’s half to the Derby box, from Jordan Ayew to Abdul Fatawu to Jordan James to Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
All of them were played with a purpose, all of them were played forward, and all of them were played to teammates running at speed, looking to exploit space. It sounds simple, and City made it look that way, but it was an impressive move.
For the third goal, there were four passes from Jakub Stolarczyk in City’s box to James inside Derby’s, including one excellent raking ball from De Cordova-Reid to Stephy Mavididi.
Again, there was no messing about. City played the passes and made the runs to create a chance as quickly and as effectively as possible.
There are times to be patient, but this was not one, and both City and Marti Cifuentes recognised that.
Those goals helped deliver an important result. Any win is vital, but this felt especially so. In beating an in-form local rival away from home in front of more than 3,000 travelling supporters, City simultaneously lifted the mood, got the past two games out of their system, and eased the pressure around Cifuentes.
Fifteen shots to none shows where to improve
Explaining City’s attempted fightback last weekend, Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder said: “I’ve been a pro a long time and when you’re 3-0 down, the game becomes easy and you can afford to take risks because everybody thinks the game’s done and dusted.”
That explanation also felt true for how the second half panned out at Pride Park. This time it was City on the back foot.
It’s why there will be very few getting too excited over the result. City really didn’t see it out as comfortably as they could.
That City didn’t let Derby get a second meant it was not utterly nerve-shredding, but the Rams were in the ascendancy for much of the second period, and indeed they had 15 shots to City’s none over the 45 minutes.
That looks alarming on the face of it. Pleasingly, only one of those 15 shots were defined as a big chance, the one that ended in the net. Otherwise, it was Derby trying their luck from unfavourable distances and angles.
Curtis Nelson of Derby County sees his header saved by Leicester City Goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk
Curtis Nelson of Derby County sees his header saved by Leicester City Goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk
City withstood the most intense period, the five minutes after Sondre Langas’ goal, and threw their bodies on the line when the match became hectic in added time.
But it’s not ideal. It’s not that City should have totally shut down Derby, but they should at least have had the game plan and quality to threaten on the break. To go a whole half without registering a shot is a little disappointing.
Because, although City defended well, the best form of defence is possession and attack. The Boro game last month showed that even if you seem comfortable, when you give an opponent territory, it only takes a second for them to create a golden moment.
The second half at Pride Park doesn’t diminish the importance of the afternoon, but it will stop supporters from looking too high up the table.
Ominous explanation opens door for Skipp to be main man
It’s not hyperbole to suggest this was Oliver Skipp’s best game in a City shirt. And he delivered it in a timely moment.
This season, when Skipp has started, he’s been alongside Harry Winks or Boubakary Soumare, and so has not been the deepest of City’s midfielders.
He’s instead tasked with playing a box-to-box role. Within that, he hared around the pitch with effort, but not much impact.
On Saturday, he was the man at the base of the midfield and it seemed to provide a clarity of role that helped him thrive.
He showed the previous week, when he filled in as a makeshift centre-back, that he might be better with more of the game in front of him. The evidence is stacking up that that’s the case.
His on-the-ball work was solid, but it was off the ball where he especially impressed. He read the game terrifically.
Perhaps not needing to dart here, there and everywhere as he would as a box-to-box man, Skipp was in the right spot to get stuck in when City needed him most. There were plenty of moments through the 90 minutes where he intervened in Derby attacks, either with blocks or by getting a toe on the ball. City’s defence must have been grateful for his protection.
It feels like a role that Skipp could have for the foreseeable future too. At this point, it would not be a surprise if Winks doesn’t play for the club again.
When a player is left out in a “technical decision”, it’s ominous. It suggests there’s a reason that the manager simply doesn’t want to divulge.
Cifuentes refused to expand on what it might mean, and that only adds to the uncertainty over Winks’ future. He’s got just over six months remaining on his contract, and so a cheap-ish January exit would not be a surprise.
In that case, Skipp may become City’s main man at the base of midfield. He will need to improve at controlling the tempo of a game, something Winks is especially good at, but over the past two matches, he’s shown he can pass from deep, and he’s shown he can protect a back-line. Those are two excellent traits to have in that position.
The delight of his team-mates to his maiden City goal was also a positive sign. It seems he’s popular. That popularity will only grow if he produces more performances like that.
Oliver Skipp and Jordan James
Oliver Skipp and Jordan James were key in Leicester City’s win over Derby County(Image: 2025 Malcolm Couzens)
90-minute chant shows James can back up his words
In saying that anybody who considered relegation to League One a serious possibility was “out of their mind”, James threatened to lose some of the goodwill he’s built since joining the club on loan.
City fans have been burned by similar comments before. Supporters don’t want their fears dismissed like that. In their eyes, a nonchalant attitude towards the drop is not best practice. The way to ward it off is to consider it a realistic outcome.
But within 48 hours of making those comments, James had his name chanted by 3,000 supporters for the best part of 90 minutes.
The Welshman had said “I won’t let that (relegation) happen” and he backed those words up with another brilliant performance.
Once again, he was all action, getting up and down the pitch, contributing at both ends. His goal was a testament to great timing and attacking intent; the 21-year-old rushing into the box and gently prodding the ball into the net.
But it was perhaps eclipsed by the quality of his assist. James did superbly to control the pass, spin, and slip a pass through to De Cordova-Reid in one smooth motion.
That’s now a combined seven goals and assists this season for James. Only Abdul Fatawu has more for City.
Plus, of the players in the Championship who have more goals and assists than James, nobody is younger. Of the players above James who have played fewer minutes, all are strikers apart from Southampton’s Finn Azaz.
He is both a fine player and an excellent prospect. Fans will forgive any comments he makes if he keeps playing like that.
Selection as well as result eases pressure on Cifuentes
In his post-match press conference last weekend, Cifuentes pointed to Ipswich and Southampton’s spending in comparison to City’s and it felt like the sort of comment an under-pressure manager might make to protect their reputation.
It was one of very few signs that Cifuentes is feeling the heat. He’s mostly kept his cool despite being one of the favourites to be the next Championship manager sacked for the best part of a month.
One win is not going to relieve all that pressure in one fell swoop, and he remains second favourite with the bookmakers to be the next for the chop, after West Brom’s Ryan Mason. But this result does him plenty of good.
It was not just the win over local rivals, but also the manner in which it was achieved, as well as the players who contributed to it. Supporters have been desperate for Cifuentes to show greater trust in younger players and drop those who have been involved in relegations and who are perceived not to care as much for the club.
In omitting Winks, in selecting Ben Nelson over Wout Faes, and with six of the 11 that finished the match coming from the academy, he gave them what they wanted.
Keeping his job is as much about keeping the fans on side as it is the club’s hierarchy, and there was definite progress made there.
But the challenge of the Championship is that you do not get to revel in victories for that long. Over the next fortnight, Cifuentes takes his team to play-off contenders Bristol City, hosts promotion hopefuls Ipswich, and then goes back to his former club QPR.
That’s a tough run and one where the progress made on Saturday can quickly be forgotten if selection and performances are not there.
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