Leicester City of England midfielder, Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi and his national team colleague, Alex Iwobi, who plays for The Foxes’ English Premier League rivals, Everton have both received accolades from their coaches, after putting up sterling performances with their respective clubs last weekend.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, while Iwobi again played as a wing-back and was in top form for The Toffees, who he helped snatch a dramatic win against Chelsea, Ndidi finally got the better of fitness issues to put up a gritty show for Leicester in their 3-0 victory over visiting Brighton & Hove Albion.
The former Nath Boys of Lagos and Racing Genk of Belgium ace put in such a resounding display that left Leicester’s coach, Brendan Rodgers expressing sheer delight with the Super Eagles’ star’s return to action after several weeks out with an adductor problem that required surgery.
While hinting that Ndidi is irreplaceable in his squad, the Northern Irishman highlighted that the holding midfielder enables his attack to flourish, hence his decision to hand Ndidi his first start in the EPL since September 20, and he helped The Foxes silence Brighton at King Power Stadium.
Rodgers told Leicester’s official website: “He covers the ground. In terms of counter pressing, he’s so strong. He can get up to the ball so fast. If a team breaks through our midfield line, he can normally get back in and recover.
“Of course, on set pieces, he’s very dominant. You can see, bringing him into the team, the profile he gives you in your box when you’re defending. From a defensive perspective, he’s irreplaceable with what he gives you, in terms of energy and desire to get the ball back.
“Just his personality in the game is so great for us. It’s great to have him back. We’re obviously trying to manage his time coming back in there, but he’s a colossal player.”
In similar vein, Iwobi was one of the players singled out for praise by Everton’s coach, Carlo Ancelotti in the wake of The Toffees’ 1-0 win over Chelsea at Goodison Park on Saturday, as the former Arsenal lad again showed the value of his newly found versatility.
Iwobi, who has been excellent playing in multiple positions in recent games, again got accolades from the respected Italian football tactician, who admitted he has been impressed with the Super Eagles star, as he proved to be an effective and strong threat going forward from his position on the right side of a four-man midfield, while also contributing defensively.
Ancelotti said: “Defensively, we did really well; it was fantastic from our midfielders — Allan, Doucouré, Sigurdsson, Iwobi. They worked really hard. The team sacrificed; but that was the target … to sacrifice because against a top team like Chelsea you have to sacrifice.
“They did really well and after that [with] our counter-attack we were really dangerous. We didn’t concede a lot of opportunities and I think we deserved to win.”
