Ipswich Town's EFL Cup Victory: Tactical Tweaks and Concerns
Ipswich Town’s 3-1 win over Leicester City in the EFL Cup might look straightforward on paper. It was anything but, according to those who watched every laboured touch and late surge.
Slow start, familiar faces
Jeremy honed in on the line-up. Ten of the starting eleven were at the club last season, and for him, that continuity bred comfort rather than cohesion.
“It showed,” he said. Ipswich were “far too slow and lacking in drive and energy,” a side stuck in last year’s rhythm while Leicester zipped around them. The difference, in his eyes, came not from the starters but from the bench and one key tweak: Sindre Walle Egeli moved into the middle, and the game began to tilt.
The shift wasn’t subtle. With fresh legs and a rejigged shape, Ipswich finally looked like a cup side ready to fight, not just feel their way in.
Leicester on top – until they weren’t
Beardo didn’t sugarcoat the first half. Ipswich were “sluggish and off the pace,” and their press, usually a weapon, misfired badly. Players weren’t tight enough, the extra body needed to lock in the press never came, and Leicester simply played through them.
“They had an overload,” he noted, and the punishment felt inevitable. Leicester “really deserved to be in the lead at half-time,” and few in blue could argue.
Then came the turning point: Leif Davis.
His introduction changed the entire temperature of the tie. Suddenly there was “more urgency, a driving force,” as Beardo put it. Runners started darting in behind a “very high back line” that had been toying with Ipswich, stepping up and catching them offside “all night.”
Once Ipswich finally timed those runs and matched Leicester’s tempo, the match flipped. The pressure finally told, and the Foxes’ control evaporated.
The lingering concern up front
Not everything in this win felt reassuring.
Edward’s focus was blunt and specific: Ipswich need another striker. He acknowledged Chuba Akpom’s contribution in the build-up, but didn’t hold back on the main job of a centre-forward.
“His shooting is terrible,” Edward said. Akpom had “two or three amazing scoring opportunities and scored none.” On another night, with a more ruthless opponent, those misses could have turned a comeback story into an exit.
So Ipswich march on in the EFL Cup, buoyed by impact subs, tactical tweaks and a full-back who changed the mood. But with concerns about tempo, pressing, and a misfiring finisher, this wasn’t just a cup win. It was a reminder: if they want a deep run, how long can they afford to leave that striker gap unfilled?
