Marc Albrighton believes Leicester City have failed to properly fix their most glaring weakness during what has been a disappointing Championship campaign to date.
The former Foxes winger, who clocked up over 300 appearances across a decade at the club, highlighted the alarming defensive record under Marti Cifuentes. Leicester have now gone almost half a season without a clean sheet, conceding 40 goals in total, with only Sheffield Wednesday letting in more. City’s back line has not shut out an opponent in 21 consecutive matches.
While many supporters left the CBS Arena feeling missed opportunities in the first half proved costly, Albrighton felt the defensive lapses were far more damaging as Coventry overturned a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1.
“That’s the biggest worry,” Albrighton told Sky Sports. “You can accept a short spell without a clean sheet, but when it stretches to 20 or 21 games, it points to a serious issue that hasn’t been properly solved.
“I’m sure it’s something they’ve talked about and worked on behind the scenes, but from what I see, it’s not enough.
“The defending in the second half was particularly poor. Simple balls over the top caused problems, ones the centre-backs should be dealing with comfortably, and Coventry were able to create chances far too easily.”
Albrighton added that the display summed up Leicester’s season so far and warned it could end any hopes of a play-off push.
“You keep waiting for Leicester to really click, to put together a complete performance,” he said. “Instead, it’s been a run of frustrating displays.
“They could have been two or three goals up before the break but didn’t finish the job. Then defensively they fall short after half-time and end up losing.
“That pattern has happened too often this season, and for me, that’s what will stop them from going any further.”