Leicester City Women Mid-Season Review: A Search for Identity and 'Lightning Leitzig' - Part 2

The Season So Far

Leicester City Women brilliantly battled their way to a 1-0 victory versus high-profile London City Lionesses at the King Power on 14th December - their last game of 2025. 

The Foxes are in a decent position after their first 11 games of the season. Two hard-fought wins against Liverpool and London City places them 9th in the WSL at the halfway stage. 

A decent run in the Subway League Cup was unfortunately cut short following defeat to WSL 2 side Crystal Palace in the quarter-final. 

However, manager Rick Passmoor seems to be slowly but surely implementing a tenacious, fighting spirit into the Foxes side that has seen them take points from close WSL table rivals Everton, Aston Villa, London City and West Ham.

The true star of Leicester’s campaign so far is goalkeeper Janina Leitzig, who’s been nothing short of heroic at times between the sticks. 

She’s managed three clean sheets in 11 games this season, including making 50 saves at a save percentage of 71.4% according to FOTMOB.

Match Recaps - November & December

A bitter defeat considering the previous run of games for Leicester. The Gunners subjected the Foxes to a bit of a thrashing before Mouchon scored a consolation goal. 

It was a great run from inside her own half and drilled into the back of the net. However, the need for a more consistent option up front was evident, with a couple of goalscoring opportunities not being capitalised on. 

Arsenal immediately hit back, and the Foxes could only look on as the reigning Champions League winners outclassed and outplayed them. 

All attention therefore had to turn to West Ham and achieving a good result there. 

Talk about super subs! What an impact from Shannon O’Brien as Leicester just about managed to secure an important point away at West Ham. 

The Foxes faced a team with their own brilliant defensive identity, which Leicester had real difficulty breaking down. 

The Foxes struggled to remain composed in possession in the second half and some poor finishing ultimately made the game harder that it needed to be. 

The Hammers thought they had won it, only to be faced with a Leicester side full of positivity and a ‘never-say-die’ attitude towards their football. 

To salvage a point in the end was a great outcome and may prove important should a relegation battle be on the cards in 2026.

Despite a decent opening 25 minutes, the Foxes’ tactical mishaps and possessional errors were laid bare by a ruthless Brighton side.

The Seagulls went two goals ahead before O’Brien at last found the net. However, Brighton succeeded in punishing Leicester for a very sloppy second half and notched another two goals. 

Missing key goalscoring opportunities was yet again the theme here as Leicester repeatedly struggled to get the ball past the keeper. 

It seemed that previous tenacious mindset had slipped away from the Leicester players, prompting Rick Passmoor to call for them to ‘stay focused on [their] principles’. 

Going back to basics and sticking together was therefore Passmoor’s key aim going into the next cup fixture against Crystal Palace. 

Or so we thought. An abysmal display of football against a team who were sitting in 8th in the WSL2 meant Leicester’s winless run stretched to seven games. 

Pockets of space exploited, countless errors in possession, and no clear team chemistry meant the Foxes crashed out of the League Cup. 

A fiery battle between Hannah Cain and Palace’s Ruesha Littlejohn provided the most entertainment of the night, with the latter being immediately sent off for wrapping her arm around Cain’s neck. 

No player advantage could’ve helped this team score as the Foxes looked utterly dejected at the full-time whistle.

Good thing they were only up against the WSL leaders in the next fixture!

The Foxes looked set on fighting for a 0-0 draw in a match that demonstrated some more flashes of Passmoor’s ongoing quest for an ‘identity’. 

The first half saw the wing-backs Cayman and Thibaud deal with Man City’s frontline exceptionally well, even though the Citizens’ star striker Bunny Shaw was also having an absolute howler of a 45 minutes. 

The overall defensive effort was admirable and the desire to fight for the team was evident from all players. Liv McLoughlin said it best, describing Man City’s breaking of the deadlock as coming down to ‘individual moments’.

The Foxes couldn’t hold onto their momentum and once the mistakes occurred, Man City took full advantage. However, there were certainly positives to take away from this match and Leicester will have been pleased with their performance up until the 70th minute. 

They had no choice but to attempt to finish 2025 on a high against London City Lionesses. 

This was a nail-biter of a rematch against London City, with the teams having last faced each other in the League Cup earlier this season. 

After a brutal eight-game winless run, the Foxes needed a bit of festive magic to guide them into 2026. And they certainly succeeded in that quest as Shannon O’Brien bundled the ball over the line in the second half, sending the Foxes’ fans wild on Filbert Way.

Leicester were restored to their former defensive glory with an excellent stoppage-time penalty save from none other than Lightning Leitzig herself. 

The backline kept London City’s intimidating forwards at bay and did exceptionally well to secure an emphatic win going into the mid-season break.

This was a much better marker of what to expect from the Foxes in 2026.

Final thoughts  

Overall, it has been a real learning curve during the first half of the season for Leicester City Women.

They have suffered in games where they probably should have capitalised, however, they have also made up for those performances in other games - games such as the ones against Chelsea, Everton and Aston Villa, where the Foxes proved they can be competitive and take points from top teams.

The unsung hero throughout Leicester’s campaign so far has undoubtedly been the brilliant Janina Leitzig. But there have also been glimpses of star quality from other players, notably Asmita Ale and Olivia McLoughlin.  

Come the transfer window, Leicester do need to look at reinforcing themselves. It is unlikely, with the return of key players such as Noémie Mouchon and Missy Goodwin from injury, that they will be spending big. 

Perhaps we will see some more funding go towards development and more academy prospects being included in matchday squads. 

This would no doubt allow Rick Passmoor to keep building on and implementing his ideas around ‘identity’ within the squad and the wider club.