Bristol City player ratings as Robins extend losing run with Leicester defeat

CommentsSportopinionDaniel Carter22:09, 10 Mar 2026Radek Vitek - 6The Bristol City stopper was certainly the busier of the two goalkeepers in the first half against Leicester City. While he pulled off good saves to deny both Abdul Fatawu and Jordan James - and could do little about the Foxes’ opener, he would have likely hoped to keep the home side’s second out, as he got a big hand on Fatawu’s powerful effort. Made some good stops in the second-half.

Probably the member of Bristol City’s backline to have the best evening in the East Midlands, although none of them are likely to have enjoyed Tuesday night. Noah Eile kept the Robins ticking in possession with some good, attack-minded passes and had little involvement in either of Leicester’s two goals. He could still be stronger in the air, but given that he is still adapting to the English game, he is faring admirably, especially considering he was never meant to play this regularly.

While he wasn’t the only man at fault for Leicester City’s opener, as we will touch on later, Neto Borges seemed to be too easy to beat when Ben Nelson headed the Foxes into the lead. The Brazilian isn’t a centre-back, so he will always be cut some slack, but he didn’t look comfortable out of possession at the King Power Stadium, even if he played a couple of clever passes in the first half. From set-pieces, he is never going to be able to provide the sort of presence both Rob Atkinson and Rob Dickie can.

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As has been the case for large portions of the campaign, Bristol City’s captain just didn’t appear to be his usual all-action self. Deployed as the right-sided member of the midfield unit, he appeared to be sucked in-field in the lead-up to Leicester’s second, leaving George Tanner with two men to mark. Having moved into a more central role in the second half, the Ireland international looked slightly better, but still seemed to be uncharacteristically sloppy, on and off the ball, as the Robins suffered a fourth straight defeat.

Restored to the starting line-up in central midfield, the 34-year-old, as he often does, kept things simple in possession. In doing so, he struggled to have a major impact on proceedings, as he was unable to inject the pace that the Robins were lacking into the game, from the middle of the park. By no means the worst in white and black at the King Power, but not one of the better performers either.

On his first Championship start since last season’s play-off campaign, Max Bird appeared to be one of the men marking Ben Nelson for Leicester City’s opener. The Bristol City midfielder needed to be stronger as he was beaten in the air far too easily. On the ball, he had some clever touches and got into some reasonable positions, but his flicks and cute passes didn’t quite come off. I imagine he was withdrawn to accommodate a slight change of shape. Hopefully, his exit wasn’t the result of an injury or any fitness concerns.

As has been the case since he arrived at Ashton Gate, Tomi Horvat was at the centre of the limited good attacking play Bristol City managed in the first half, as he picked up various good positions from the right flank. His pass that helped Emil Riis draw the Reds’ second-half penalty was excellently weighted and came after a clever turn deep inside the Foxes’ half. The Slovenian international was probably City’s best performer on an otherwise miserable evening, and it was good to see him complete a full game for the first time in England.

Stationed on the left flank after a positive cameo at the weekend, Scott Twine caused Leicester some problems from set pieces as he and Tomi Horvat interchanged well. Outside of those instances, however, the Reds’ number 10’s impact was limited. I wonder if he should have been in a better position to assist Ross McCrorie for Leicester’s second goal as well, as he seemed to be the man charging back in order to try and pick up Abdul Fatawa.

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It is hard to be too critical of Emil Riis for his first half performance against Leicester City, as the Bristol City forward had little to no service to work with. The Dane couldn’t have asked for a better chance to score in the second, however, when he was brought down to win the Robins their first penalty in more than a year. The former Preston forward’s spot-kick lacked conviction and was too easily saved by Jakub Stolarczyk, though, and seemingly ended any slim hopes of a comeback the Reds harboured.

City aren’t scoring enough goals as it is, so they simply cannot afford to miss such golden chances.

Introduced with plenty of time to make an impact, Sinclair Armstrong failed to do so. The Irishman also picked up a late booking.

A relatively quiet cameo as he went about his business well enough on the left wing.