MX23RW : Sunday, April 28 19:34:39| >> :600:5812886:5812886:

Brendan Rodgers dismisses suggestions Leicester could face early exit

Brendan Rodgers dismisses suggestions Leicester could face early exit
© Reuters
Leicester have one point from their opening two Group C games.

Boss Brendan Rodgers dismissed fears Leicester could suffer an early Europa League exit after their lacklustre defeat at Legia Warsaw.

Mahir Emreli's strike sunk the Foxes in Poland as they slipped to a 1-0 loss to leave them struggling in Group C.

The Foxes were joint favourites for the competition with Napoli but both sit joint bottom of Group C with just a point after the Italian's 3-2 defeat to Spartak Moscow.

Leicester go to Moscow in October and Rodgers remains confident they can progress.

He told a press conference: "It's very open, there are four games to go. Legia have made a good start but our aim is to qualify. We still have work to do.

"We've got one point from two games but there is enough time to do that.

"I'm disappointed with the result. We were too passive in the game in the first half. Then we had a couple of really good chances.

"We didn't concede too much, we dominated the second half and were much more active. We had opportunities to get something from the game.

"I've made the changes but it doesn't take away the importance from it. We have four more games to qualify. As a football club, we're new to the level."

Rodgers made six changes from Saturday's 2-2 draw with Burnley with Jamie Vardy only coming off the bench for the final eight minutes.

Leicester's preparations started in embarrassing fashion when Kelechi Iheanacho was turned away by Polish border control because of problems with his travel documents on Wednesday.

It got worse as Emreli struck a first-half winner when he held off Daniel Amartey and drilled into the corner off the post.

Ayoze Perez dragged wide with just Cezary Miszta to beat as Leicester chased the game but they rarely looked like they had the energy and ingenuity to level.

The Foxes at least improved after the break and had plenty of possession but only Jannik Vestergaard's miscued header forced Miszta into action.

Indeed, Kasper Schmeichel needed to ensure Legia did not add a late second when he turned Lirim Kastrati's shot onto the post before Tomas Pekhart blazed over when the hosts caught Leicester on the break.

Emreli told uefa.com: "My mum usually wants me to shoot as quickly as possible when I get the ball, so I don't think she will be fully satisfied because I kept the ball for some time.

"We have six points after two games. You might think it's a dream, but it it's really happening.

"There are no favourites anymore in football. Everything is in your head. I said before the game we should enjoy it like an exotic holiday because it is fantastic to play in such an atmosphere against such a good team and we did that."

ID:466195:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect3264:

Click here for more stories about Brendan Rodgers

Click here for more stories about Legia Warsaw

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates after winning the FA Community Shield on August 7, 2021
Read Next:
Kelechi Iheanacho to miss Leicester match in Poland after problem with documents
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
Read more about Brendan Rodgers Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Result
Baez
Fritz
2 3
6 6
Result
Griekspoor
Rune
6 4 6
4 6 3
Result
Humbert
Struff
5 4
7 6
Result
Hurkacz
Altmaier
6 77
4 62
10am
Paul
Cerundolo
Result
Rublev
Davidovich Fokina
712 6
610 4
Result
Seyboth Wild
Alcaraz
3 3
6 6
10am
Shapovalov
Zverev
Result
Sherif
Rybakina
1 4
6 6
Result
Krueger
Bejlek
3 1
6 6
Result
Putintseva
Dolehide
6 6
2 2
Result
Pavlyuchenkova
Kasatkina
65 5
77 7
Result
Vondrousova
Andreeva
5 1
7 6
Result
Garcia
Paolini
3 2
6 6
Result
Collins
Cristian
3 6 6
6 4 1
7.10pm
Montgomery
Sabalenka
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Jagiellonia BialystokJagiellonia30168668412756
2Lech Poznan30141064334952
3Slask Wroclaw30149740291151
4Gornik ZabrzeGornik30156943331051
5Legia WarsawLegia301311646341250
6Rakow CzestochowaRakow301310751321949
7Pogon SzczecinSzczecin301461056362048
8Widzew Lodz30126123939042
9Piast GliwicePiast Gliwice3081483232038
10Stal Mielec30108123642-638
11Zaglebie Lubin30108123546-1138
12Radomiak Radom3098133751-1435
13Warta Poznan30810123137-634
14KS CracoviaCracovia3061593840-233
15Puszcza Niepolomice29711113546-1132
16Korona Kielce29612113438-430
17Ruch Chorzow30314133452-1823
18LKS Lodz3056192965-3621


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!