Claude Puel has admitted his Leicester City side’s chances of qualifying for the Europa League are all but over after falling to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Burnley.
Europe is gone
"I think so, yes," said the Frenchman, when asked if their chances are over following the defeat.
"Of course there are games remaining but they [Burnley] now have a lot of chances."
Puel also believes the result flattered their opponents a little by saying: “Except for the first 10 minutes, it was a good performance."
He added: “It was crazy to have all those chances and to have only scored once.
“From the beginning, we made things easy for the opposition. Of course, I was impressed because there was good concentration before the game and good duels at the beginning and it was close with the other team, but to concede two goals quickly, it was difficult to accept.
“After, we had a lot of chances and we can come back into the game early before the break."
Puel continued: "It was important to come back in the second half with quality and we improved in our play.
“We have had a lot of chances and it is a big disappointment of course because I think we deserved another result. It was not a fair result.”
Red for Long?
There was also an incident in the second half, which could have saw Burnley striker Kevin Long pick up a red card, for a challenge on Kapser Schmeichel, a decision which Puel believes changed the game.
“We will see the next day how he (Schmeichel) is,” said Puel. “It was a heavy knock.
“Perhaps the player deserved another colour of card.
“I hope we can recover Kasper for the next game. We will see.”
Looking forward
Despite all this, the manager found positives in the performance and looks ahead to the clash with Southampton next week.
“Today it was good to find my team again with quality and good play, with a lot of chances. It was for me another game than the one at home.
“It will be important to keep a positive attitude for the next game and try to finish as high as possible in the table because we deserved this place, for the fans, the club and the chairman.
“We will have a strong game in the next game against Southampton. It will be very important, very crucial for us.”