Ranieri: Bad Result, Good Experience

- Leicester City beaten 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in Los Angeles
- Second game of International Champions Cup and third friendly brings City’s first defeat
- Manager Claudio Ranieri pleased with experience, if disappointed with the result
- City to tackle first ever UEFA Champions League campaign in the new season
Retention of perspective was high on the agenda for Claudio Ranieri after his Leicester City side’s pre-season defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in Los Angeles.
It was a challenging second outing in the International Champions Cup for the Premier League winners, who conceded twice in each half to the French champions in a 4-0 defeat at Carson’s StubHub Center.
Establishing match fitness in preparation for the new season will have been top of the priorities for Ranieri’s men, but sampling the kind of quality they will face in their forthcoming debut in the UEFA Champions League gave added value to the experience.
“I think it’s a good experience for us,” Ranieri told the media after the game. “PSG is a good team that is building to win the Champions League. They have a big squad with big players and for our players it was a good experience.
“They are a little ahead of us in their preparation (for the season). We wanted to press them, but it was difficult. When you go to press and you don’t arrive at the right time, they move the ball quickly away from you.
“Maybe if we had scored a goal when we had the chance at the start of the second half, maybe we can change something, but it was a good, good experience.
“A bad result, but I think we can improve from this defeat.”
City had been under pressure up until PSG took the lead halfway through the first half – Edinson Cavani ramming home a penalty after a Daniel Amartey foul on Jonathan Ikone. They conceded a second after probably their best spell of the game – Ikone scoring on the break after Riyad Mahrez and Amartey (twice) had both gone close.
PSG continued to show their class after the break and Lucas nodded in a third before fellow substitute Odsonne Edouard rounded off the scoring in stoppage time.
“The lesson is to be calm, have respect and restart with the same mentality as well as last season. That is the most important thing,” Ranieri said, reflecting further on his side’s defeat.
“We have to be intelligent because we conceded goals. The first was a clear penalty, but after that there were too many counter attacks. We have to stay calm and try to wait for the right moment to have some chances for us.”
After a positive week in LA, the Foxes now head to Stockholm to play Spanish champions Barcelona – a side Ranieri feels will provide a similarly difficult test for his team.
“It is another big team who keep possession of the ball. That is normal,” he said.
“We can’t keep possession of the ball. That is not our quality. Our quality is to be together and strong. With the right discipline and run.
“At this moment we can’t run as well as last season. That is normal.”