Tielemans: We Had The Chances

- Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans assesses Thursday’s UEFA Europa League draw with Spartak Moscow
- Daniel Amartey cancelled out Victor Moses’ opener on Filbert Way
- City sit third in Group C with two games to play

The Group C encounter saw Spartak open the scoring through Victor Moses’ header following the interval, but Daniel Amartey levelled matters from a corner not long after.

City had several chances to win the game, first through Jamie Vardy’s penalty, which he saw saved, before both Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Kelechi Iheanacho went close within a matter of seconds.

Speaking to LCFC TV after the game, Tielemans said: “We’re disappointed because I felt like we had the chances in the second half to score and kill the game, and unfortunately, we didn’t do that and we get the draw in the end. I felt like we could have had more near the end of the game.

“We knew that maybe away from home that they were not going to come, and maybe sit deep and wait for a counter-attack. We were prepared for that. We just had to stay patient the whole game and move the ball quickly, and then we scored a goal from a set piece, which is good for us.

“Unfortunately, we could have scored one or two more to kill the game, like I said, to try and win it.”

Just two points separate leaders Napoli and Leicester in Group C, and with another home fixture coming up against Legia Warsaw later this month, Tielemans is certain the Foxes can get the results they need to progress from their pool.

He said: “We are confident. We know it’s going to be two really tough games, but we have a lot of confidence in ourselves and we know that if we’re at a good level, our level, we can go and win those games, but we’ll have to be ready and prepared for those games, which will be really, really hard.”

Next up, though, is a Premier League encounter with Leeds United at Elland Road on Sunday, ahead of the final international break of 2021.

“I think with their fans it’s going to be a different game, and they are maybe in a different mood this season, so we’ll have to be really careful playing away from home, and hopefully we can win the game over there,” Tielemans added. “It’s going to be another really hard game.”