‘We lacked belief’ in Chelsea defeat, says Rodgers

Jason Soutar
Brendan Rodgers after a defeat

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has said his team ‘lacked belief’ in their disappointing 3-0 loss against Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

The Foxes were comfortably beaten at the King Power Stadium after goals from Antonio Rudiger, N’Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic.

The defeat leaves Leicester in the bottom half of the Premier League with 15 points from their opening 12 fixtures.


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Rodgers was disappointed with the opening 45 minutes, but admits he was “much happier” with his side’s second-half performance.

“We conceded a disappointing goal for the corner that gave them confidence, you can see why they are European champions, they have physicality, technique and aggression,” Rodgers said.

“We lacked that belief, we resurrected that at half time and the attitude was much better in the second half, I was much happier in the second half.

“There are issues we can deal with (on zonal marking) that put us on the back foot. We have to defend set pieces better.

“We needed to change the momentum so Madders and Kelechi gave us a bit more physicality and ability to protect the ball.

“The attitude is amazing but confidence is not where it has been. It is my job to bring that back, it has been difficult for us this season but that responsibility starts with me so I have to find a solution for it.”

Next up for the Foxes is Legia Warsaw at home on Thursday night in a crucial Europa League encounter before facing Watford in the league next weekend.

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel picked out two things his side need to improve on despite their convincing win over Leicester.

“It was a good performance and we could’ve finished the game earlier. There are still things to improve, decision making and conversion, but it was a mature performance and we needed it,” said the Chelsea boss.

“I thought we could be more precise and clinical in the first half because we played with such effort, had ball recoveries, found spaces with the ball, and, of course, a third goal would’ve decided the match almost certainly.”