Maresca: We Had Some Good Moments
- Leicester City lost 1-0 to Leeds United in the Sky Bet Championship on Friday
- Georginio Rutter scored the only goal of the game at King Power Stadium
- Enzo Maresca reflected on a first defeat in 10 games for the Foxes
Having won nine Sky Bet Championship games on the bounce, the visit of the Whites brought a first league defeat since the loss to Hull City, and just the second this season, with Georginio Rutter’s 58th-minute goal the difference on Filbert Way.
Although a frustrating night, which ended in Leeds cutting the gap from third to first to 11 points, there were aspects of the performance that pleased Maresca, as he outlined following full-time.
“For sure, I think we deserve something more but, in the end, that’s football,” the Italian reflected. “But we always said we can control the way we want to play and the way we behave, we cannot control the results, because tonight I think we played well.
“We had some chances, but we lost the game. The save, the crossbar, many chances around the box... it is what it is. On the ball, I think we were quite good. Off the ball, for some moments, but in the end I’m happy with the performance.”
After Sam Byram’s initial header was saved by Mads Hermansen, Frenchman Rutter tucked away the rebound in the game’s key moment. It’s a moment that the coaching staff will analyse, Maresca assured.
The 43-year-old continued: “I always say when we score from set pieces, we cannot think that we are not going to concede from set pieces, it’s normal. We always try to analyse the game.
“It doesn’t matter if we win or we lose, we’re going to see the game again. For me, it’s quite clear. They are also a team building to try and get promoted. They have some very good players, especially up front.
“In the same moment, I think we just need to continue to try and see how we can improve and that’s all. The people tonight enjoyed the game because it was quite open, quite a good game.”
It’s all about how Leicester react to this setback, with a trip to Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium up next a week on Saturday for the table-toppers (3pm GMT kick-off).
City’s Manager added: “Now we have two days off and then we are going to prepare for the next game and then the international break. We are going to try and understand what is working well, what is not working, and try to improve.”