Van Nistelrooy: It Was A Tough Day

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Van Nistelrooy: It Was A Tough Day

Ruud van Nistelrooy pointed to areas for improvement after Leicester City were defeated 4-0 by Newcastle United at St. James' Park on Saturday.

2024-12-15T09:00+00:00

by Sam Jones

Published

15 Dec, 2024

from St. James' Park

Van Nistelrooy: It Was A Tough Day

Ruud van Nistelrooy pointed to areas for improvement after Leicester City were defeated 4-0 by Newcastle United at St. James' Park on Saturday.

Sam Jones

2024-12-15T09:00+00:00

Van Nistelrooy: It Was A Tough Day

Ruud van Nistelrooy pointed to areas for improvement after Leicester City were defeated 4-0 by Newcastle United at St. James' Park on Saturday.

Sam Jones

2024-12-15T09:00+00:00

Van Nistelrooy: It Was A Tough Day

Ruud van Nistelrooy pointed to areas for improvement after Leicester City were defeated 4-0 by Newcastle United at St. James' Park on Saturday.

Sam Jones

2024-12-15T09:00+00:00

Van Nistelrooy: It Was A Tough Day

Ruud van Nistelrooy pointed to areas for improvement after Leicester City were defeated 4-0 by Newcastle United at St. James' Park on Saturday.

Sam Jones

2024-12-15T09:00+00:00

Leicester City lost out 4-0 to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday
Jacob Murphy (2), Bruno Guimarães and Alexander Isak all scored for the hosts
It was Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first defeat in charge of City
He assessed what went wrong at St. James’ Park

A Jacob Murphy brace, alongside goals from Bruno Guimarães and Alexander Isak saw the Magpies claim victory at St. James’ Park, ending van Nistelrooy’s unbeaten start as Foxes Manager.

Able to reflect on a difficult afternoon, the Dutchman felt his team quickly lost their way following the opener on the half-hour mark, with a quick-fire double just after the interval then putting pay to any chance of finding a response themselves and getting back into the game.

He said post-match on Saturday: “Of course, looking at the result, it’s a tough day. I think we had a positive start to the game and, during the first half, the momentum swung into Newcastle’s favour. Then it’s important to reach half-time and to stay in the game.

A disappointing day for the Foxes.

“It was disappointing to concede a corner that we looked at before the game. It’s a matter of these details in the Premier League that we need to get results in these places. Straight after half-time, it was the second set-piece and I think it’s something which wasn’t necessary, but we obviously have to look at it. There are many things to look at.

“It was quickly done about five minutes into the second half. At 3-0 down, it’s game over and that’s a shame because I don’t think that was necessary. You can get outplayed if there’s waves of attacks and you concede from open play, but we gave goals away too easily. We have to look at it.

“In the first half, the structure on the ball was not as we said. We didn’t do it right. In the second half, it was better and we showed some spells of possession where we got to the three [attacking] players and found them, but we have to improve on that and what we said before the game and the plan. We have to work together. I was very happy with the first two games with that.”

After losing Mads Hermansen to injury at half-time, there was also an outfield reshuffle to try and halt the home side’s growing momentum, including bringing Conor Coady into a slightly more advanced role in front of the back four,

“We didn’t want to make it worse because the game was already done,” the 48-year-old explained. “The players kept doing their jobs and putting the effort in - that was important, but we couldn’t turn it around.

Plenty to reflect on for City's Manager.

“The spirit was the foundation of the performances against West Ham and Brighton. When that foundation is there, you can look at where to improve and what we are doing well.

“There are some positives, looking at the start. We’ve had three tough games but we’ve got four points and there’s ups and downs. We’re going to reflect on this and start again next week to work towards the next game at home.”

That next game sees Wolverhampton Wanderers visit King Power Stadium on Sunday, with Wolves currently sitting inside the bottom three and five points behind the Foxes. Getting back to winning ways is therefore a priority for van Nistelrooy and his team.

“We’ve got a full training week preparing for the next game and we’ve got to make the most of it to make steps in the right direction,” he added. “It’s been hectic coming in two weeks ago and having the first game after two days so now it’s time to breathe, evaluate the three games and make a plan for the next game.

“In defeat, you learn the most. It’s important to evaluate every game you play and things you can improve. Against this Newcastle team, it shows where we can improve, because it’s such a good opponent and that helps to analyse it and build to do better.”

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