Albrighton: A Disappointing Result
- Marc Albrighton reflects on Leicester City’s 4-2 loss to Newcastle United
- The City winger netted his first Premier League goal of 2020/21 in the defeat
- Albrighton felt the Foxes’ mistakes cost them a chance to add to their points tally
City were at one stage 4-0 down, however late efforts from Albrighton and Kelechi Iheanacho reduced the deficit at King Power Stadium.
Albrighton netted his first Premier League goal of the season in fine fashion after coming into the starting XI shortly before kick-off, but could not prevent the Foxes from falling to a difficult loss.
“Mistakes have cost us, mistakes that we’re not normally used to seeing,” the No.11 told LCFC TV at full-time. “It’s frustrating, it’s disappointing. We’ve got to pick ourselves up. We’ve got three games left and we’re in a great position. We can’t let one silly performance, one silly result, stop us.”
Albrighton was initially named as a substitute for the match, however after Jonny Evans picked up an injury in the build-up to kick-off, the wideman was brought into the XI at left wing-back.
“Obviously, everyone can look at that change so late on, and yes, it’s not ideal,” he said. “It obviously disrupts things a little bit.
“We worked on the training pitch with Jonny in the team and that personnel, but from my point of view, I always make sure I’m ready if I have to step in, whether it’s before a game, whether it’s five minutes into a game, or five minutes from the end of the game.
“From my point of view, I was ready to come into the team whenever called upon. I know my role, I know what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s not ideal, but I made sure I gave myself the best chance to be ready.”
Albrighton’s excellent finish on 80 minutes was followed up by Iheanacho’s 11th Premier League goal of 2020/21, however City could not find the net for a third or fourth time and were beaten for the first time in five games across all competitions.
He added: “It was probably too little, too late – we gave ourselves a mountain to climb with the first goal from a mistake. After that, we needed to make sure we come together and make sure our concentration is right, and not concede another, and obviously [they score] from a set-piece.
“There’s still time to get in it, but we fought to the end and that’s the main positive that we can take out of it. We gave everything until the last whistle.
“It wasn’t enough on the night, but we’ve got three cup finals in the league now that we need to get points from. We’ll make sure we give ourselves the best chance to do so.”