Claudio Ranieri has admitted that his team are finding it difficult to defend from corners having conceded three goals to Antonio Conte’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
Having watched his Premier League champions sink to a 3-0 defeat against the Blues, the experienced Italian was obviously frustrated at the result, even more so down to the insipid performance that the Foxes put in at the weekend. However, the former Inter Milan boss was also quick to turn attention to Tuesday night’s match-up against FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League.
‘Very strange’
Talking to the Foxes’ official website (LCFC.com) after the game on Saturday afternoon, the 64-year-old highlighted his confusion at the result and indeed performance, especially the way in which his reigning Premier League champions conceded.
Having already talked about his team’s difficulties from set-plays, Ranieri said it was “very strange” to see this happen again with Diego Costa opening the scoring from a Chelsea corner-kick. Revealing that he “spoke a lot about this”, the Italian’s frustration was palpable with him saying that his team “concede too many goals from the corner” – a view that will surely be shared by supporters having watched the Foxes concede all four goals from corner-kicks in a recent 4-1 defeat by Manchester United.
‘They push us all the time’
Nonetheless, Ranieri was keen to take positives from the game and one of those that the Italian drew plenty of attention to was the support of the travelling fans, saying: “I can say only thank you to our fans”.
Labelling them “fantastic” and commenting that “always when we win or lose, they push us all the time”, the gratitude that the former Chelsea man has for the Leicester faithful has remained un-wavered despite the team’s dramatic drop-off in form.
‘We must be concentrated’
Also keen to draw the headlines away from the disappointing defeat in the capital, the enthusiastic Italian was keen to turn attention to Leicester’s Champions League exploits and this week’s clash with Danish champions FC Copenhagen.
Admitting that he was “thinking” about that particular match and that he wanted his players “to be fresh”, the team selection in which the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani were on the bench at Stamford Bridge, became clear.
Suggesting that the clash with the Danes could be “tougher”, it’s clear that he is not underestimating Stale Solbakken’s team as they travel to the King Power Stadium. Also, highlighting the fact that the Foxes’ opposition are “very organised [and] strong”, the experienced manager concluded by saying that his team “must be concentrated” going into the match on Tuesday evening.