League Cup Player Ratings: Walsall 0 - 0 Leicester City

Leicester City survived a huge scare against Walsall in the League Cup on Tuesday evening. Neither side could find a breakthrough, so the match went to penalties and the Foxes held their nerve to advance 3-0. Let’s run the rule over the players to see if anyone made a case to start next Saturday.

Danny Ward - 8

Ward faced only two shots on target and made a fine save on the second one. During injury time, he saved all three Walsall penalty attempts. You can’t ask for much more than that.

Two of our better players Tuesday night admiring...you know what, let’s not go there. Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

Ricardo - 7

The Portuguese was arguably our best outfield player. He won as many tackles as anyone on the pitch and was our safest passer (91% success rate). He was the one man on the pitch who seemed to understand where the other players would be at any given time. His penalty was unstoppable.

Conor Coady - 6

Was involved in creating one of Walsall’s best chances, failing to come for a ball that he seemed likely to win. Otherwise, he was solid in defence and attempted some ambitious passes that didn’t come off. Took his penalty well.

Caleb Okoli - 7

He looked like the only player on the pitch who was getting regular minutes (which, you know, he was). He was very comfortable on the ball and held his ground when challenged—a strong performance.

Luke Thomas - 6

Most of the dangerous-looking Saddlers’ attacks came down his side. Defended well enough, but at times looked shaky. His runs forward were seldom met by accurate passe from his teammates.

Boubakary Soumare - 7

I had him at a 6 but had to revise my rating after reviewing the highlights and the statistics. The French midfielder did a little of everything, contributing defensively and moving the ball briskly in attack. Played some nice balls that Edouard probably should have done more with. Solid performance.

Hamza Choudhury - 6

Made one vintage sliding challenge, but was otherwise fairly quiet. His passing ideas were good, but his execution let him down. Showed good leadership on the pitch.

Abdul Fatawu - 7

It was a 5 in the first half and 9 in the second, so we’ll go with 7. I like odd numbers. He was anonymous for the first 45 minutes, unable to beat his markers the few times he saw the ball. Much like Mavididi on Saturday, he became unplayable after the break.

Fatawu really has to start on Saturday, doesn’t he? Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images

Facundo Buonanotte - 6

There was a lot to like about the Brighton loanee’s efforts on Tuesday: He ran hard, pressed well, won the ball high up the pitch, and played some long balls that very nearly came off. But, he tried to do too much with the ball at his feet, losing it at an alarming rate.

Bobby De Cordova-Reid - 6

He was a willing runner and was always looking to cut inside and play one-twos with his teammates, but none of it really worked and he wasn’t involved in any attacking actions of note.

Odsonne Edouard - 5

Put himself about and got into good positions, but he was a step slow and his touch a bit loose. Only managed 23 touches and a single shot.

Substitutes

Jordan Ayew (69’) - 5

Came on for Edouard and failed to make an impression with only 8 touches in 21 minutes plus injury time and no shots. Genuinely forgot he was on the pitch.

Kasey McAteer (80’) - NR

Minimal impact. Begged for the ball, but saw little of it.

Bilal El Khannouss (80’) - NR

Looked more confident on the ball than on Saturday, but not on the pitch long enough to change the game.

Oliver Skipp (80’) - NR

Took his penalty well and did well to put a dangerous cross behind for a corner.

Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images

Manager - 6

This side should have comfortably handled Walsall. I can’t argue with the individual player selection but, by making 10 changes, the side suffered a massive loss of cohesion. More worrying is the body language of some of the players. They looked visibly frustrated with each other.

Man of the Match - Danny Ward

The Wales international single-handedly saw us through to the next round. It was his right hand. He made a key save with that hand during regular time, and then saved all three penalties he faced with the same mitt. He even showed his cheeky side, trying to con the assistant referee. I’ve been a pretty harsh critic of Ward, but he was aces tonight.