![\"Ricardo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_Applaud.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTalking points from the 1-1 draw with Wrexham, looking at Jannik Vestergaard’s last-minute equaliser, emotions, Ben Nelson at left-back, midfield injuries, and more<\/p>\n
Ricardo Pereira applauds the Leicester City fans after the 1-1 draw with Wrexham(Image: Plumb Images\/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The joy has been sucked out of Leicester City, so much so that even a last-minute equaliser could not spark a celebration.<\/p>\n
The reaction to Jannik Vestergaard\u2019s 90th-minute goal at Wrexham<\/a> was so muted that there were question marks over whether it had even counted.<\/p>\n Had the referee\u2019s whistle gone unheard by the crowd? Was there a foul? Was it offside?<\/p>\n No, it was simply that City<\/a> didn\u2019t seem pleased to score. Vestergaard himself looked drained of any happiness. Watch any City player as the ball hits the net and it\u2019s difficult to spot even a hint of a smile.<\/p>\n JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest Leicester City news, analysis and more via our LCFC Facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n So what were they feeling? Maybe it was anger. This is a squad mostly made up of players who joined the club in the Premier League and expect to be playing there, or at least competing to get back there. Instead, they\u2019re a mid-table Championship side scrambling for a point against another mid-table Championship side.<\/p>\n Perhaps it was apathy. There\u2019s a disillusionment among the supporters with the way the club is being run, and it\u2019s an emotion that could be taken on by the players.<\/p>\n The line from the manager is that the potential points deduction doesn\u2019t impact the players. But maybe it does. It might be difficult to be positive about earning points when they could be stripped away because of the disorganisation of those in charge.<\/p>\n Perhaps it was embarrassment. City had 30 minutes to reply after Lewis O\u2019Brien opened the scoring and yet they did not manage a single shot until Vestergaard found the net.<\/p>\n They barely even got close to Wrexham\u2019s box until that last-minute set-piece. So maybe there were twinges of shame and guilt that they\u2019d scored such an undeserved equaliser.<\/p>\n Marti Cifuentes did say<\/a> that the goal did not change that they were \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the performance, but he did feel City played well in the first half.<\/p>\n That seems generous. City had the single good chance in the opening 45 minutes, and they didn\u2019t concede many openings to Wrexham, but really it was a turgid half of football from both sides.<\/p>\n City fans certainly weren\u2019t satisfied with it, chanting \u201cattack, attack, attack\u201d during one moment of halfway-line keep-ball.<\/p>\n In the second half, it wasn\u2019t necessarily that Wrexham created a hatful of chances, but all of the play up to Vestergaard\u2019s equaliser was in their favour, bar one City counter.<\/p>\n Perhaps it was a cocktail of all of the emotions mentioned above that prompted such a restrained reaction to the goal.<\/p>\n But whatever the feeling, it should not be the case that a club is in such a dire mood that a last-minute equaliser can\u2019t spark joy.<\/p>\n Player emotions point to Cifuentes or recruitment<\/p>\n Emotions were also at the centre of Cifuentes\u2019 post-match press conference.<\/a> He said that City let their frustration get the better of them after they conceded, and it stopped them from producing the right response.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a balance to strike. A team of robots is no good, but neither is a team that drops their heads and loses their way when they concede, especially when they\u2019ve conceded in their last 22 straight Championship matches.<\/p>\n This is not the first time that Cifuentes has brought up the emotions or mentality of the squad. He\u2019s acknowledged it\u2019s something that\u2019s affected City all season.<\/p>\n Abdul Fatawu of Leicester City is challenged by Callum Doyle of Wrexham(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n But in that case, it only reflects worse on him as manager. It\u2019s his task to swing the mood, to get the players mentally and emotionally ready. It\u2019s as big a part of management as organising the tactics of a game.<\/p>\n Is this a recognition from Cifuentes that he\u2019s unable to get the players in the right frame of mind? Or is that the other issues around the club are so overwhelming that his attempts to prepare the squad are pointless?<\/p>\n Maybe it is the make-up of the squad and that City have recruited too many players who struggle to manage their emotions.<\/p>\n Cifuentes was adamant last week that any players arriving this month would need to \u201chave the right personality for what we need at the moment\u201d.<\/p>\n The ultimate solution, of course, is that City stop conceding. They can\u2019t have a negative reaction to the ball hitting their net if they cut it out completely. But since September, they\u2019ve found that impossible.<\/p>\n Nelson at left-back is best, but temporary solution<\/p>\n The revolving door at left-back saw Ben Nelson take up the position on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n Luke Thomas was dropped after a difficult evening at Sheffield United and replaced by Hamza Choudhury, who then didn\u2019t cover himself in glory against West Brom. Thomas returned against Coventry, but was partly at fault for the winning goal.<\/p>\n So it was Nelson\u2019s turn in what is an unusual role for the centre-back. His selection felt specifically like a response to Thomas\u2019s error at Coventry, with Cifuentes wanting greater strength in dealing with back-post crosses.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s capable to do it,\u201d Cifuentes said, explaining Nelson\u2019s position. \u201cWe felt Wrexham, playing with this system with two wing-backs, especially when they play with Kieffer Moore, it\u2019s a team that will cross a lot and will put a lot of bodies from wing-back to wing-back in the box, so it was important for us to have the capacity to defend the back post.<\/p>\n \u201cPlus, when we\u2019re building up, we do three plus two, where the right-back inverts and the left-back comes inside. Ben is very capable at this, in fact it\u2019s probably one of his best positions in the build-up. I think he did really well.\u201d<\/p>\n But the question remains over whether City need a new left-back. If Cifuentes is losing confidence in Thomas, if Bade Aluko is seen as a right-back and if Victor Kristiansen is injured, then Nelson will have to play there, but that means all of City\u2019s fit centre-backs are then in the starting line-up.<\/p>\n When asked if he wanted a new left-back, Cifuentes said: \u201cMy job is to try to develop all of the players who are here but at the same time as a club we need to always look at how we can improve, if the right opportunity comes or if the right player is there.<\/p>\n \u201cVictor has been injured for a while. Unfortunately, it\u2019s been many months since he competed frequently, so it\u2019s something we\u2019re aware of.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, Nelson at left-back with Caleb Okoli and Vestergaard inside seems the best solution. But it also feels like a temporary one.<\/p>\n Ben Nelson battles for the ball during Leicester City’s 1-1 draw with Wrexham(Image: Alex Livesey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n James injury would prompt transfer emergency<\/p>\n The problem with looking for a left-back signing is that City desperately need a striker, while the necessity for a forward-thinking midfielder may have reached new heights too.<\/p>\n If Jordan James is out for any amount of time, that may become their new transfer priority.<\/p>\n They\u2019re already missing Aaron Ramsey and now James may too have a hamstring problem.<\/a> With the Welshman out, City would not only be missing their best performer and best midfielder, but their biggest goal threat too. It\u2019s close to becoming an emergency.<\/p>\n If no midfielder arrives or even in the meantime, Cifuentes may now have to show a little more faith in Louis Page.<\/p>\n The manager is giving the 17-year-old plenty of opportunities in big moments off the bench, but given he\u2019s passing all of those tests, now may be the time to start him.<\/p>\n Since the turn of the year, he\u2019s shown a composure on the ball to restore control to City\u2019s play and carry it out of tight spaces. He\u2019s shown an eye for a pass to set up chances. And on Tuesday, he read play well to make interceptions when the game became stretched.<\/p>\n He is inexperienced and mistakes will be made, but it\u2019s hard to say he doesn\u2019t deserve an opportunity to start.<\/p>\n Lowest points after 28 games since relegation<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just that City will be six points off the play-offs, the biggest the gap has been all season, if either Stoke or Watford win on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n That figure in itself is not insurmountable. But with a potential points deduction heading their way, and with the way they\u2019re performing \u2013 City rank 22nd for expected goal difference this season \u2013 it feels like this season, if it ever becomes something more than a mid-table battle, is more likely to be a relegation battle than a promotion push.<\/p>\n In fact, a tally of 38 points from the first 28 games is the lowest City have managed in a Championship season since 2007-08, when they did go down to League One.<\/p>\n They had 31 points after 28 matches that term. A points deduction could take City below that amount.<\/p>\n The latest Leicester City headlines sent straight to your phone<\/p>\n Get the latest Leicester City news sent straight to your phone by joining our Foxes WhatsApp community. Just click here<\/a> and select \u2018Join Community\u2019 to get started.<\/p>\n No one will be able to see your personal information in the community and you will only receive messages from the LeicestershireLive sports team. We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest City stories. All you need to participate in this free service is to have WhatsApp on your phone.<\/p>\n If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave at any time by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and then ‘Exit Group’. It’s as simple as that. You can read our Privacy Notice HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Abdul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_Wrexham-AFC-v-Leicester-City-Sky-Bet-Championship.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_Ben-Nelson-23.jpg\")
<\/p>\n