Ferdinand faults Ndidi for Leicester’s FA Cup ouster

Former England and Manchester United defender,  Rio Ferdinand has faulted Wilfred Ndidi for the goal that knocked Leicester City out of the English FA Cup.

Leicester City conceded for the first time in the competition this season as they lost  1-0 loss to Chelsea at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.

Substitute Ross Barkley scored the decisive goal after Ndidi failed to closed down the England midfielder quickly.

Ferdinand who was speaking from his punditry role with BT Sports said Ndidi saw the danger and should have reacted quicker by picking up Barkley before he volleyed home the winner.

“The gap between the centre-backs starts to develop. When that happens, when that big gap comes, the big job is for Ndidi, who has had great reviews for how he’s played over the years, and rightly so.

“Once you see the gap between the centre-backs when the ball’s wide, his job is to drop in, drop in here and be that guard in there. If you keep your eye on Ndidi here, and look how many times he looks over his shoulder to see where Barkley is.

“One look, two looks – when he looks there – he has to drop in there and cover the run from Barkley. He knows he can get in behind Ndidi because he’s not looking.

“Jonny Evans, one of my old team-mates, sees this but he’s marking his man – Tammy Abraham – once he sees it he’ll come over to try and cover. But once this happens at this level, it’s too quick, the quality is too good, it’s a great cross and the timing eliminates defenders out of it.

“Barkley sees the space, darts into it, great ball, great finish. Bad defending from Ndidi and the midfield.” He said.

Leave a Reply