Riyad Mahrez’s form for Leicester under Claude Puel: Back to his best
Riyad Mahrez was on target again in Leicester’s emphatic 4-1 win over Southampton. Adam Bate looks at how the player has rediscovered his best form under Claude Puel.
It is five goals and four assists for Riyad Mahrez now. He has already matched his combined total for the whole of last season. But the remarkable thing is that he did not begin this campaign in particularly good form.
His opener against Southampton was the first time that he had scored in back-to-back games since Claudio Ranieri was in charge.
It is the arrival of Claude Puel that appears to have sparked this dramatic upsurge in form. Mahrez the magician is back. He has created more chances in each of his last three games than in any of his 14 appearances prior to that and more in total in those three matches than he did in the eight under Puel’s predecessor Craig Shakespeare.
Four of his five goals have come since Shakespeare’s departure in October. So what has Puel done differently? There have been some tactical tweaks. Much of the focus appears to be on getting Mahrez on the ball in areas where he can be most dangerous and that was the thinking behind Puel’s initial decision to switch the player to a central role.
„He is free when he plays just behind Vardy“ was the explanation offered when deploying him there against Everton. However, Puel was forced to admit that „it was difficult … to find him“ and Mahrez was again said to be annoyed by his lack of touches on the ball when used there against West Ham, showing his frustration when substituted in the second half.
A solution has been found by restoring Mahrez to the right but continuing to give him more freedom. At Southampton, only 21 per cent of his touches of the ball came while hugging the left touchline – far less than the 38 per cent in Shakespeare’s final game in charge against West Brom and a fraction of the 58 per cent in the opening day defeat at Arsenal.
However, the reasons for Mahrez’s improved form are not merely tactical. Puel spoke soon after his arrival of the desire to „seduce“ the player into staying at Leicester. That may prove beyond him given the size of some of the clubs being linked with the Algerian but at least the daily dialogue that Puel has opened up with Mahrez is having an impact.
Listening is key under Puel and not just because of his reputation among the media for being the Premier League’s quietest coach. Speaking to Laurent Roussey, Puel’s former assistant at Lille, that was the recurring message, while Thierry Henry has said of his old team-mate in the past that players will get better under him if they are willing to listen.
That was a big factor when Puel famously got the mercurial Hatem Ben Arfa’s career back on track at Nice – to the point where he was named in France’s PFA team of the year in 2016. The coach fostered a relationship with the ex-Newcastle player and he remains a close confidant – they met up for dinner as recently as October and there is talk of a reunion.
Pointedly, Puel praised Ben Arfa for being „prepared to listen“ so it is encouraging that he has already spoken of his chats with Mahrez, a fellow French speaker. He has noted that he is a student of the game, something that came across when interviewing Mahrez last season about how Barcelona’s forward players find space with their movements.
Whether any of this will convince Mahrez to stay is unclear. Perhaps his appetite to impress other clubs is the bigger factor in his good form. „It is important to help him to have more consistency [during] the game because he is a valuable player for us,“ said Puel last month. „If he can show this game after game it will be fantastic for him and for the squad.“
That is surely the key point. Leicester have the real Mahrez back and there are few things in the Premier League more enjoyable than watching him in full flow. It is almost two years to the day since he last netted in three consecutive Premier League games. If he scores against Crystal Palace on Sunday, more memories of those magical days will stir. Mahrez is reborn.Soccer Accumulator Bonus
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