Puel responds to claims of sack after famous Leicester win

Leicester boss Claude Puel defended his decisions after the Foxes’ first win at Chelsea in 18 years alleviated some of the pressure on his position.

Jamie Vardy’s goal six minutes into the second half inflicted the Blues’ first home defeat of Maurizio Sarri’s reign.

Chelsea’s third defeat in six Premier League games left the Italian pondering his side’s “strange” reaction and “mental confusion”.

But it was Puel’s position under scrutiny prior to the match, following a run of two wins in 12 games heading to Stamford Bridge.

The Frenchman’s team selection was questioned for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final with Manchester City, who advanced on penalties, as Vardy was rested to manage his return from a groin problem.

He proved his fitness with a sixth goal of the season as Leicester won at Chelsea for the first time since September 2000.

“I have nothing to justify,” Puel said. “I am the manager of my team and try always to do my best to get the right balance to protect some players, get the best out of other players, and put a team on the pitch with the ability to win the game.”

Asked whether the players’ performance at Stamford Bridge showed he had their support, Puel said: “I have no comment about this.

“I made my work. It’s not all the time easy. But, all the time, it’s important to analyse the games and not just to look at the ranking in the table.

“If we analyse it since the beginning of the season, we’ve had fantastic games and performances sometimes without consistency.”