Leicester City crash out of the Europa League in loss to Napoli
Leicester City saw their UEFA Europa League campaign come to an end with a 3-2 loss to Italian’s Napoli, that saw the Foxes finish third in their group.
Despite the loss, Leicester’s European journey this season isn’t over, as by finishing third, they drop into the knockout round of the UEFA’s new competition for this year, the Europa Conference League. Despite this, Manager Brendan Rodger’s admitted he didn’t even know what the competition was.
"“I’ve got to be honest I don’t even know what the competition is,”“I was focused on the Europa League and winning this group and at the very least finishing second. But I am sure I will find out soon enough.” (Via BBC Sport)"
In the game, the Foxe’s fell two-nil down in under half an hour, before a quick fire reply through Jonny Evans and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. James Maddison struck the post in the second half but Napoli were always the frontrunners in the game taking the lead in the 53rd minute through Macedonia youngster Elif Elmas. It was a lead they would easily hold onto as Leicester were made to rue a string of errors throughout the game.
16 - Leicester have conceded in 16 consecutive matches in all competitions, their longest run without a clean sheet since a run of 17 between November 2005 - January 2006. Breached.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 9, 2021
Not only does the loss put Rodger’s side out of the Europa League, but leaves them with one win in their last nine games in all competitions. A big issue for the Foxes has been their leaky defence, with the constantly changing backline due to injuries or suspension, conceding in 16 straight games.
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Leicester return to Premier League action this weekend against Newcastle United, but to add to their woes, they could be without several players due to COVID and illness. Despite all the issues, Rodger’s will be hoping he can find the key, to turn his team’s form around.