Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was happy with his side’s display but picked out a fundamental flaw in their game that cost them victory.
The Foxes sit third in Europa League Group C after a 1-1 draw with Spartak Moscow at King Power Stadium. They have taken five points from one victory and two draws and face games against Legia Warsaw and Napoli. The East Midlanders could have done with all three points on their own patch.
But they had to settle for one after former Chelsea winger Victor Moses headed in unmarked against the run of play on 51 minutes. Daniel Amartey equalised seven minutes later and there were no more goals, leaving Rodgers frustrated.
“Performance wise, we played well in the game,” he told BT Sport. “Did not concede so much but the goal we conceded was really poor from our perspective.”
Jamie Vardy missed a penalty in the 75th minute to further irk Rodgers. And the former Liverpool boss felt his charges committed a common error to allow the opposition into the game.
“We did not track runs into the box and something we have seen before,” he added. “Overall the players played well, created lots of chances and we missed the penalty. We never had the killer instinct in the box to take the opportunities.
“It is not easy when there are 11 players sat in, we worked the ball into good area but just could not find the final ball.”
Rodgers lays down the law
Leicester have struggled with consistency in the Premier League this term. They have won just four of 10 games to sit 11th in the standings.
There is a sense that they are underachieving, with an ability to blow away most teams on their day. But Rodgers believes you need to earn the right to play attractive football by doing the nitty gritty well.
“For me it is simple. It is about running, you have to run,” he continued. “We concede against Arsenal when we did not track the run.
“You have to do the dirty things and if you don’t run it makes it difficult for you.”
And the 48-year-old namechecked two players who are key to the club’s fortunes.
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“Wilfred Ndidi coming back will help us,” he said. “Boubakary Soumare is not a natural goalscorer, he will not get 10-15 a season but he is a continuity player and a physical presence.
“He worked hard and is adapting to playing in our way.”
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