The pivotal substitution of Kelechi Iheanacho was a tactical one, Brendan Rodgers explained after the 4-1 capitulation against Bournemouth. City had controlled the first half but said he felt the need to swap a striker for a midfielder to offer more defensive security. It did not work, City conceding four in the second half in a meltdown that may define the season.
Brendan Rodgers said “(Iheanacho) wasn’t having one of his better games, The issue for us defensively was on the side of the pitch, because there was a lot of space for Wilf and Youri to cover. So we pushed Ayo on, he was playing well, and added an extra midfielder in to help cover. But the defeat wasn’t tactical, it was about the spirit. I didn’t see it coming. We didn’t have personality in the second half. I would say an apology to the supporters, that was unacceptable for a Leicester City team, the reaction to the red card. We lacked the spirit and attitude. It’s disappointing because we’re already without three of our key players (Ricardo Pereira, James Maddison, Ben Chilwell). We don’t have a big enough squad. It’s a stupid reaction. His covering position could have been better. It was reckless. Saying that, we have to defend better. We didn’t show the right spirit when we went down to 10 men. We’ll be back in tomorrow with a huge disappointment. But we can’t dwell on it because we have a big game on Thursday (against Sheffield United). We missed a huge opportunity tonight to jump into third. I’ve always believed (City can finish in the top four). We have to worry to play better football. Tonight, we were way off it.”
