Leicester's Boubakary Soumare showed physicality, elegance vs Spartak
Leicester midfielder Boubakary Soumare showcased twin qualities of physicality and elegance in impressive performance against Spartak…and Frenchman was inches away from scoring a sublime first goal
- Boubakary Soumare was at the heart of an impressive first half display v Spartak
- He played with grace and tenacity, showing why Brendan Rodgers called him a ‘hybrid’
- The Frenchman almost scored his first goal for Foxes with audacious shot off bar
- The £17m signing has the qualities of Youri Tielemans and Wilfried Ndidi but still has some way to go
For a player with one goal in a career spanning 126 senior matches, it certainly was on the audacious side.
But, hey, wasn’t it Wayne Gretzky who said you miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take? Or was it the boss in the US version of The Office? Either way, Boubakary Soumare gets the gist.
When he found the ball bobbling towards him 25 yards from goal who can blame him for thinking: ‘Ah, go on then’.
Boubakary Soumare was one of Leicester’s standout players against Spartak Moscow
The Frenchman combines the physicality of Wilfried Ndidi and elegance of Youri Tielemans
The Leicester City midfielder struck it so clean and, for a moment, it looked bound for the stanchion. Instead, it rattled the crossbar. Oh well, maybe next time.
It was the closest Leicester had come to scoring against Spartak Moscow in a game close to must-win territory for the home side as they look to qualify for the Europa League knock-out stages.
Leicester had been bright, much brighter in fact than their recent Premier League defeat to Arsenal. And Soumare, the £17million summer signing from French champions Lille, had been at the heart of it. This young lad from the same Paris suburbs as two former Leicester legends N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez.
Brendan Rodgers signed Soumare because he reminded him of both his star midfielders. He has the physicality of Wilfred Ndidi, Leicester’s ball-winning bloodhound. He also has the elegance of Youri Tielemans, one of the finest passers in European football.
A ‘hybrid’, as Rodgers called him. The best of both worlds, you might say. And in the first half at the King Power Stadium, he showed just that.
Soumare has been described by coach Brendan Rodgers as a ‘hybrid’ but still has more to give
At one stage, you half expected the 22-year-old Soumare to take a moment in between threading passes through the midfield to re-tie his smoking jacket and pour himself another scotch.
Time after time, he collected the ball on the edge of the centre-circle, rolled away from an oncoming opponent and played a pass ahead of him into midfield.
And yet, for all the silk and slippers, it was not quite enough. He has the qualities of Tielemans and Ndidi but he is also neither in their fullest brilliance.
It was still Tielemans who found the most gaps in the Spartak defence, both in the build-up to Soumare’s own shot against the crossbar and for a later chance with which Patson Daka found thin air.
And had Ndidi been on the pitch early in the second half, Victor Moses would likely not have had the space to make his way into the penalty area to nod home the opening goal in a game.
Soumare was signed by Leicester for £17m after winning the Ligue 1 title last season with Lille
It was no surprise that just seven minutes after Moscow took the lead, Rodgers brought Ndidi on as Leicester levelled. Soumare moved further forward — Rodgers has a grand plan to turn the one-goal deep-lying midfielder into a goal-scoring box-to-box star. Yet his influence continued to fade as the hosts strived for late winner.
He made way with a few minutes to go, before Leicester’s late flurry of chances that went begging to leave the Foxes third in the group with two games to play. Yet still, as they say, all to play for.
The home fans greeted with a round of applause. They appreciated his efforts.
There is clearly more to come, not least his first goal for the club. He can’t get much closer.
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