Leicester City’s struggles at the back were laid bare for all to see as Brentford cruised to a 4-1 victory at the Gtech Community Stadium. The Foxes’ defensive vulnerabilities were repeatedly exposed by the Bees’ clinical attacking play, leaving new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy with a clear understanding of the task ahead.
“It’s a tough result to take, but we have to be honest with ourselves,” said caretaker boss Ben Dawson. “We didn’t defend well enough, and we didn’t create enough chances. We have to learn from this and move on.”

The match got off to a disastrous start for City, with Brentford’s Kevin Schade scoring a hat-trick to leave the Foxes reeling. Schade’s goals were a testament to the Bees’ clinical finishing, and City’s inability to cope with their opponents’ pace and movement.
“We knew that Brentford would be a tough opponent, but we didn’t expect to concede four goals,” said City defender Conor Coady. “We have to take responsibility for our own performance, and we have to do better.”
Despite the introduction of new faces, including Coady and Luke Thomas, City’s performance showed little signs of improvement. The team’s attacking threat was largely nonexistent, with Facundo Buonanotte’s early goal proving to be a false dawn.

“We created a few chances, but we didn’t take them,” said Buonanotte. “We have to be more clinical in front of goal, and we have to defend better. It’s a tough league, and we have to be at our best every week.”
Van Nistelrooy, who watched the match from the stands, will have been disappointed by the lack of fight and determination shown by his players, particularly in the second half. The Dutchman will need to quickly instill a sense of discipline and organization if City are to have any hope of avoiding relegation.
“It’s clear that we have a lot of work to do,” said Van Nistelrooy. “We need to defend better, and we need to create more chances. We will work hard on the training pitch, and we will look to improve our performance in the next match.”
The defeat will have also given Van Nistelrooy a clear understanding of the need to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window. City’s lack of depth and quality was exposed by Brentford’s clinical performance, and Van Nistelrooy will need to act quickly to address these shortcomings.
“We will look to strengthen our squad in January,” said Van Nistelrooy. “We need to bring in players who can improve our performance, and we need to do it quickly. We will work hard to identify the right players, and we will do everything we can to bring them to the club.”
In the aftermath of the defeat, City’s director of football Jon Rudkin faced chants of “Rudkin out” from the traveling supporters, who were clearly frustrated by the team’s performance. The pressure is now on Van Nistelrooy to turn things around and get City’s season back on track.
“We understand the frustration of the fans,” said Van Nistelrooy. “We will work hard to improve our performance, and we will do everything we can to make the fans proud. We need their support, and we will do everything we can to repay it.”
Player ratings:
Mads Hermansen: 4
James Justin: 4
Wout Faes: 3
Conor Coady: 4
Caleb Okoli: 4
Luke Thomas: 5
Wilfred Ndidi: 4
Boubakary Soumare: 5
Facundo Buonanotte: 5
Jordan Ayew: 4
Jamie Vardy: 6
Jannik Vestergaard: 5
Oliver Skipp: 4
Stephy Mavididi: 6
Patson Daka: 4