Leicester unlucky to lose to Bournemouth: Ranieri
Bournemouth (UK), Dec 14 (IANS) Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has insisted that his team was unfortunate to lose to AFC Bournemouth in their English Premier League (EPL) clash here.
Bournemouth upstaged the defending English Premier League (EPL) champions 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium here on Tuesday evening to move up to the eighth place on the league table with 21 points from 16 matches.
Leicester on the other hand have virtually no hope of retaining their title as they languish at the 14th place with 16 points from 16 matches.
The defending champions however created several chances during Tuesday’s match and Ranieri asserted that they were unlucky to come away empty handed.
“I think the result is too harsh for us because we deserved more. In the first half in our best moment, we had a chance to score with a corner. Then, they scored a goal.
“In the second half, we created more chances than them, but we didn’t score. Then, Bournemouth won. Well done to Bournemouth, but I think tonight we deserved a draw,” Ranieri was quoted as saying by the Leicester City website on Tuesday.
“It’s okay, the performance was good for us. Of course, it wasn’t possible to make the same performance as Man City, but it was good. The desire was good and the concentration was good, just the goal (was missing),” he added.
Bournemouth, who had conceded nine goals in three games before Tuesday’s encounter produced a gritty defensive display.
Leicester striker Jamie Vardy was denied in the first period and Steve Cook blocked substitute Shinji Okazaki’s effort in the second half. That was followed by a superb save by Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc who kept out Leonardo Ulloa’s effort from six yards in the final minute.
Leicester created a host of chances in both periods but gave away the ball too easily. They were punished for their sloppiness when Marc Pugh, who made the starting XI for the first time this season, scored for the hosts with a volley from outside the 18-yard box.
“Sometimes we have to be more aggressive and press a little higher to get back in the match. I know in our eight matches away, we have got only one point, but I think we can improve. I’m sure in the next eight matches, we will do something more,” Ranieri said.
The Italian manager said that Danny Drinkwater and Kasper Schmeichel could return from injury for Leicester’s next EPL engagement at Stoke City on Saturday.
“Drinkwater received a kick on his knee in Porto and I hope he is ready for Saturday. For Schmeichel, in the last week he trained very well, so also he should be available for Saturday’s game,” he said.