Talking points from Leicester City’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday, looking at the impact of the result, balancing quality and fight, an early goal conceded, and more
Jordan Blackwell
12:37, 07 Apr 2026
Jakub Stolarczyk, Caleb Okoli and Divine Mukasa applaud the Leicester City fans after the 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Asked if Leicester City’s failure to beat Sheffield Wednesday felt like a significantly damaging result in their battle against relegation, manager Gary Rowett said: “Not really.”
That is a different answer to the one many, if not all, City fans would have given. This was supposed to be three points.
Mostly, that’s because it’s been three points for everyone else. Wednesday have been competitive enough not to be thrashed every week, but they had lost 16 of their previous 17 games.
Even without their points deduction, they are, statistically, one of the worst-performing sides in the history of English football. They’re now playing for pride alone.
City, one of the most expensively-assembled and handsomely-paid sides in the division, have their future on the line. This is a game they should be winning.
Rowett’s point was that the table had not changed. Everybody else at the bottom drew, and so the gap to safety remained the same, just with one fewer game to come.
“Had we won here, it’s not as though we’re then safe,” he said. “It would be a psychological boost and we’d be a point outside the relegation zone. There’s a psychology to that.
“But we’re not in any worse position, it’s just another game gone where we’ve not taken our opportunities.”
Rowett may be, sensibly, trying not to catastrophise. In his eyes, ramping up the idea that it’s a major missed opportunity may not be helpful for his squad for the final five matches.
But for supporters, it feels like too many chances have now gone, to the point where relegation is more likely than not.
City had a run of six games against sides without promotion or survival to play for. It was the ideal fixture list for a side in their position.
They’re now five games into that run and have taken six points from a possible 15. It means, even if they beat Swansea this weekend, they’re going to need points from their final four fixtures.
Those games, against two sides battling at the bottom and two sides striving for promotion, will require something extra. They’ll require extra fight, extra commitment, extra composure to cope with the pressure. Fans are doubting whether City have that something extra in them.
Rowett debates quality v fight as City defy logic
That narrative, that City lack fight or lack care for the club’s plight, will persist because their form doesn’t abide by established logic.
It’s not just that the City players are paid well and have been signed for many millions, it’s that practically all of them have performed at Premier League level if not Championship level in the past.
The answer cannot be that the players aren’t good enough. So it has to be something else, and that they don’t care feels like the next obvious option.
But Rowett rejects that explanation, as did Andy King and Marti Cifuentes before him. And, with the number of chances created against Sheffield Wednesday in response to going behind, it doesn’t feel like an accurate assessment of Monday’s game.
However, Rowett did say himself that City may lack fight. He means that in the sense of physicality rather than commitment. The way to counteract that, in his eyes, is to show more of the quality the team does have.
Leicester City manager Gary Rowett during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City at Hillsborough
Rowett said: “From what I can see, from the habits I see, we go 1-0 down but we keep trying, we keep pushing, we create chances, we create opportunities, late on we’re still pushing for the winner. It was exactly the same on Friday.
“I see a team that cares. What we need to do, if we’re a team with lots of quality but perhaps less fight, then we need to show that quality.
“To only score one goal today, to me there was a lack of quality in those last actions. I believe they care. I certainly care. We’ll do everything we can to get these results.”
That puts the onus on Rowett. If the team does have the quality there, then he’s the man that needs to set them up and give them the gameplan to show it.
Twelfth goal conceded in opening 10 minutes
Another factor behind the lack of care narrative is City’s record of conceding early. Ultimately, the reason they failed to win at Hillsborough was because they let in a goal and it gave Wednesday something to defend.
Jerry Yates’ finish inside 90 seconds was the 12th goal City have conceded in the opening 10 minutes of matches this season. That’s four more than any other side in the division.
From the corner, there were three duels in total as the ball bounced around the box. City failed to win any of them. Wednesday looked like they wanted it more.
Rowett didn’t have an answer for why City have conceded early so often. Instead, his focus was on a lack of “aggression”. Failing to win duels in the box is a “huge problem”, he said.
That indeed is a problem, although that’s perhaps been less of an issue since Rowett arrived.
Conceding early feels like complacency. It feels like the players are buying into the idea that they have greater quality than their opponents and that that will shine through, allowing them to ease into matches.
Immediately after the draw with Preston, Rowett warned his players that “every game has the potential to smack you in the face”, and so not to take Wednesday lightly. The early goal makes it feel like those words weren’t heeded.
Stolarczyk chant unnecessary
Despite the recent form, the atmosphere generated by City fans has been pretty good, and they turned out in their numbers at Hillsborough, with more than 3,000 making the trip up the M1.
But there was one moment that didn’t feel in keeping with how supporters should act.
The gallows humour and boos at half-time, full-time, and when Jordan Ayew makes his way onto the pitch are par for the course now.
Jordan Ayew of Leicester City celebrates scoring his team’s goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City at Hillsborough
They’re not harmful. Booing at the whistle is the time to do it, and Ayew is experienced enough not to let those boos bother him. His performance as City’s best player on Monday showed that.
But there was a moment in the first half where, after a few wobbly moments from goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk, fans started chanting Danny Ward’s name.
The intention was clear. Ward’s struggles in City’s 22-23 relegation campaign made him a pariah at the club. Chanting his name was telling Stolarczyk that he was struggling too.
It’s both harsh and unnecessary. Stolarczyk spoke in the week about how much City means to him, and how, in his first season as number one, he wants to pay back a club that took a chance on a 16-year-old playing non-league football in Poland.
He has looked shakier at set-piece and with his feet over recent months, since his return from his injury in November.
But he deserves support. He is far from the reason for City’s woes this season. In fact, there have been a few games, Charlton away and West Brom at home in particular, where City would not have got close to three points if not for his exceptional performances.
Supporters have a right to be angry and disappointed with players this season. But they, especially players like Stolarczyk, at least deserve not to be disparaged by people who should have their back during the 90 minutes.
What there is to cling onto
There’s five games left and City likely need a couple of wins in that run to survive. When they’re on a streak of one win in 15, it can be hard to feel confident that any victories are around the corner.
So what is there to hang on to? The big hope is the chances they’ve created.
While the last three games have all been drawn, they have outshot their opponents 67 to 20 in those fixtures. Their expected goals tally is at 6.7, from which they’ve scored just three times.
As well as the early goal conceded and the lack of quality mentioned by Rowett, one of the big reasons City didn’t win was simply that Pierce Charles had an unbelievably good game in the Sheffield Wednesday goal.
His 11 saves were the most by any goalkeeper in a Championship match this season, equalling the record he set against City on the opening day.
There is a slight sense of swings and roundabouts in that City overachieved in their finishing early in the season, when their results were propped up by 30-yard screamers. Overall, they’ve still scored eight more goals than would be expected of the chances they’ve created.
However, that they are fashioning opportunities does give them a glimmer of hope going into the final five matches.
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