The manager of Leicester City delivers his assessment following his team’s only fifth Championship defeat of the year, with Boro taking the three points at King Power Stadium.
Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca cited three factors for his team’s first loss in six games: missed opportunities, poor play in the closing third, and challenges adjusting to Middlesbrough’s shape.
For the first time this season, City was behind 2-0 at the half thanks to superb breakaways from Finn Azaz and Samuel Silvera. In an attempt to mount a comeback, Maresca made a number of substitutions, but they were only able to generate one goal, which Jamie Vardy scored with five minutes remaining.
Before the first goal by Boro, though, City did generate two clear opportunity for Jannik Vestergaard and Patson Daka. Before the number nine did bring one back, Vardy and Vestergaard squandered significant chances. City had 24 shots overall compared to Boro’s five.
However, the two goals that City did concede were both excellent opportunities that Boro’s quick attacks caught them off guard. Maresca claimed that Boro took some time to adjust to their new formation, which they had only employed once this season against Chelsea.
Maresca remarked, “It’s probably one of those days where you have to drop points.” We generated a lot of opportunities in both the first and second halves. We missed numerous opportunities before they reached their target. It is, after all, football.
“We were there till the very end, even though we easily let up the second goal from our throw-in. The most crucial thing is that we persevered and tried until the very end.
They have only previously faced us (in their current form) in the Carabao against Chelsea. Thus, we anticipated a different outcome. But we still created a lot of opportunities even when we played differently. We attempted to modify and adapt. After giving up the first goal, we most likely lost our equilibrium a little, allowing some counterattacks that we should have been able to stop.
“An additional issue is that we communicated with Abdul, Stephy, Kiernan, Ricky, Dennis, and it’s likely that we overlooked the final pass. We had a lot of opportunities that we passed up, even with these kinds of things that we need to do better at.
The loss reduces City’s lead at the top of the division to nine points, and their buffer within the automatic promotion spots to eleven points. This is combined with wins for Southampton on Friday night and Leeds on Saturday afternoon. Maresca is unconcerned about it because they still have a lot of chances to win the games necessary to qualify for the Premier League.
“I told the players that it was crucial to stick with it and keep going,” he remarked. “We had a tight relationship. This is the most crucial element. We made opportunities. We were off. It fits with our season. We can’t aim to win each and every game.
We currently have 13 games. To meet our goal, we still have a few games to win. It’s not simple. You are more aware than I am that you can forfeit games in the Championship.
