Pearson: Positives To Take

Manuel Pellegrini’s side raced into a 3-0 lead shortly after half time – an Aleksandar Kolarov free kick and a brace of goals from Edin Dzeko doing the damage, but a spirited City pulled one back through Lloyd Dyer.

The goal didn’t spark a late comeback, but there was no faulting City’s work-rate against a side that included star names such as David Silva, Joe Hart and Jesus Navas.

That said, the manager still felt aggrieved at the manner of some of the goals conceded, telling Foxes Player: “ We were beaten by a very good side but we were punished severely for one or two mistakes. I would have liked us to have kept it a bit tighter for longer but we were severely punished.

“The players deserve a bit of credit for trying to put them under pressure and I think it would have been easy to allow a side of their quality to totally dominate it but we’re still disappointed not to have been able to keep it tight for longer.

“We know that we probably didn’t give ourselves the best chance tonight. I don’t think people quite appreciate the quality they have though. I don’t think it was a case of us showing too much respect; it was just a case of us being unable to put them under enough pressure in the first half.

“We didn’t manage the ball as well as we can do. Whether you put that down to how the opponents played or a few of our own mistakes I don’t know. We can play better though and I’m disappointed to go out of the competition.

“It was an opportunity tonight to play against one of the top sides. We’re disappointed that we didn’t give ourselves the best chance. Early goals are always a key influence on that and conceding close to half time changes the complexion too. That was key, but there are still positives to take, certainly the way we came back in the second half.