A Leicester City player has received criticism from Matt Piper for his performance against Birmingham City over the weekend.
At King Power Stadium on Saturday, the East Midlanders triumphed 2-1 over relegation-threatened Birmingham City to snap a two-match losing streak.
The hosts took the lead thanks to a well-struck snapshot from Leicester’s talisman, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and just before halftime, Jay Stansfield pulled one back for the visitors.
32,000 fans watched in disbelief as Mads Hermansen kicked the ball straight into the attacking player’s path and it bounced into the net.
After a frustrating first half, Enzo Maresca’s team had more work to do, but in the 87th minute, Bruce Mavididi headed home Yunus Akgun’s enticing cross, rewarding their efforts.
It was a well-earned triumph that moved City back to the top of the Championship table after Leeds United and Ipswich Town lost to Coventry City and Norwich City, respectively.
After the game, BBC Radio Leicester pundit Matt Piper delivered a straightforward demand to one Leicester star.
Matt Piper urges Abdul Fatawu to learn from Yunus Akgun
As he has been for the majority of the campaign, Abdul Fatawu was a steady source of support down the right-hand side. But Piper has pushed him to make the finished product better.
The former Leicester winger said of the player, “He’s such a bizarre player because he’s really sporadic, he can make things happen and can get into some very great places.”
He obviously has to work on his end product, even if I felt he started the game extremely well. He rushes it; I believe that when he accomplishes something truly amazing, his heart rate shoots through the ceiling.
He lashed out at a couple today into the stadium, which makes him really volatile. Wilfred Ndidi gave him multiple underlaps that he repeatedly overhit.
In addition, he mentioned that Yunus, who replaced him to help with the winning goal, was someone he could learn from.
Piper continued, “He could look at people like Yunus and just that composure on the ball.”
Abdul Fatawu still has a lot to learn
Given that Fatawu turned 20 this past month, it stands to reason that he is always growing and learning in every game.
This season, the agile winger has only scored three goals in the league, albeit that number could have been far higher had a handful of his shots not gone wide.
As Piper mentioned, his final product’s rashness might occasionally show through, particularly after facing a few opponents.
It seems as though he gets overly enthused about his prior accomplishments, therefore Yunus and other players ought to assist him in honing that aspect of his game.
Should Fatawu make progress in that area, he possesses the potential to pose a serious threat in the Premier League should City secure promotion.