Leicester’s lynchpin: the player who is pulling the strings for the Foxes in their European quest

Leicester City are like a well-oiled machine this season. Each cog is working in tandem to provide an airtight defensive unit and a lethal attacking prowess; with Brendan Rodgers in the driving seat using his adroit man-management to make sure his players are firing on all cylinders.

With the Foxes sat in second place, things are running smoothly; with some cogs working overtime to thrust Leicester up the table and be a domineering force in the Premier League.

Ricardo Pereira is one of those cogs. Leicester’s 2018/19 Player of the Season seems almost moulded for Rodgers’ set-up at the King Power Stadium – perfectly balancing his defensive duties with his role as a new-age attacking wingback. He can often be overlooked though when players like Jamie Vardy, Çağlar Söyüncü and Ayoze Pérez are putting in more explicit performances yet he shouldn’t be and is a crucial component of Rodger’s side this campaign.

In Rodgers’ malleable 4-1-4-1 formation that often starts games, the Portuguese international often fulfills the role of a standard defender; although is allowed to roam into pockets of space as is backed up by Jonny Evans and Söyüncü. Pereira’s impressive 60% tackle accuracy, especially from a player not relied on for his boisterous tackling, proves that he can be trusted defensively in this set-up.

However, it’s when Brendan Rodgers’ alters the formation into an attacking 5-3-2 that the 26-year-old really flourishes. Essentially now playing as a winger with Evans, Söyüncü and Wilfred Ndidi anchoring the defence behind him, Pereira stays very close to the touchline and regularly makes darting runs wide – aiming to pick up the ball and offload quickly before sprinting forward as to overload wider defensive lines, much like how he exploited defensive gaps in the 5-0 drubbing of Newcastle.

As is customary in Rodgers’ uniquely flexible set-up, Pereira is allowed to rotate constantly with the closer midfielders – often Pérez or Youri Tielemans – before carrying the ball with surging runs as he did at the weekend against Brighton. This rotation often transforms the right-back into almost a right forward on counter-attacks due to the team’s reliance on his sheer pace, making him this often under-appreciated but entirely crucial entity of Leicester’s attacking dominance.

So as the royal blue machine of Leicester systematically tears apart plucky challengers as they attempt to replicate their world-beating achievement of four seasons ago, keep a close eye on one particular part of the machine that is pumping out smoke more than most. Full steam ahead.