West Brom lost 2-1 against Leicester City in the Championship on Saturday.
West Brom headed to the King Power Stadium for a game against title hopefuls Leicester City on Saturday.
The Baggies lost the reverse fixture 2-1 at The Hawthorns and went on to lose 2-1 in Leicester as well.
The Foxes scored either side of half time through Wilfred Ndidi and then Jamie Vardy, the latter also missing a penalty in the first half.
Jed Wallace scored what would be a consolation goal in the 76th minute as West Brom fell to a second successive defeat.
Carlos Corberan‘s side have now won just one of their last six in the Championship but remain in 5th place of the table.
Jed Wallace leads the line for West Brom against Leicester City
West Brom were without Brandon Thomas-Asante who was suspended for the game at Leicester.
Josh Maja returned to the bench though, and returned to action, but it was captain Wallace who started in the no.9 position for West Brom.
And he had one of his best games of the season too.
Wallace, 30, has been criticised for some of his performances this season and has been in and out of the starting XI too.
But he gave an energetic performance up front for West Brom at Leicester; leading the line and helping to bring the likes of Grady Diangana and Mikey Johnston into play.
Birmingham World rated Wallace’s performance as 8/10, with journalist Charlie Haffenden writing:
“Scored to make it 2-1 with a brilliant finish, deserved as he’d led the line well. Skipped away from [Wout] Faes with a terrific run in the first half and cut the ball back for Johnston’s first big chance.”
As per Sofascore, Wallace completed all 12 of his attempted passes vs Leicester, winning 4 out of 12 duels, with 2 out of 4 dribbles completed and an xG of 0.58 (fourth-highest of anyone on the pitch).
Jed Wallace easing Carlos Corberan striker woes
Injuries, especially in the attacking department, haven’t helped West Brom this season.
Daryl Dike remains sidelined and Maja has played just 11 times in the Championship for West Brom, who’ve been using different players as the lone striker.
Wallace has played that role on a few occasions now, and on Saturday against a very good Leicester side, Wallace shone.
He’s got the energy and the work-rate to operate as the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 shape.
And as a natural midfielder, who also knows who to score goals, Wallace has the goal-scoring nouse as well as the ability to pass and create openings for other players.
A striker with the capabilities of a midfielder seems to fit Corberan’s style of play perfectly.
This season has been tough for Wallace but Corberan continues to experiment with him, and often get the best out of him.
Going into the summer and next season, Corberan may well view Wallace purely as a striker, and it could save the Baggies a lot of money in the transfer market too.