Mavididi: We Can Be Proud

- Leicester City were beaten 4-2 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday
- The Foxes battled back from two goals down, but couldn't hold on with 10 men
- It sees City exit the Emirates FA Cup at the last eight stage
- Goalscorer Stephy Mavididi believes there is plenty to be proud of

After Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer had opened up a two-goal lead for the Blues at the break, Mavididi's magnificent curler came following Axel Disasi's own goal to make it 2-2 in the capital.

City, though, were reduced to 10 men with 17 minutes to play when Callum Doyle was sent off and, despite battling hard, the visitors couldn't hold on. Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke both struck in added time for Mauricio Pochettino's hosts.

Although disappointed to exit the FA Cup at the last eight stage, Mavididi was pleased with aspects of Leicester's performance.

"I'm shattered to be honest," he said at full-time. "Like we said in the changing room, we can be proud of ourselves. We stuck to what we’ve been doing since day one at the start of the season. Nothing’s changed.

"Obviously, it’s a difficult place to come, but we matched them for the majority of the game. It’s not easy to come from two goals down to make it 2-2.

"It just shows the character in our team and hopefully we can finish strong for the rest of the season."

Mavididi's 11th goal of the season was one of his best, curling the ball through a congested penalty area to get City back on level terms. The winger also praised the Blue Army in west London, with over 6,000 Foxes fans making the trip on Sunday.

"I received the ball and I’m driving into the box," he described. "In my mind, I had to unbalance the defender to get my half a yard. I’ve been working on it quite a lot – that strike – so I’m happy and I thank God that it went in.

"As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going in. I’d like to say a massive thank you to all the Leicester supporters who made the journey down. It was a big turnout. That’s what we play for – to give them emotions and something to be excited about, so it’s a massive shoutout to the Leicester fans."

A fourth consecutive away day awaits Leicester after the international break, with Bristol City the opponents. The final run-in is upon us, with the Foxes turning all focus onto making sure they return to the Premier League at the first attempt.

"It’s massively important," the 25-year-old added. "We can solely focus on the league now. We can only grow from this performance, collectively. It was a good performance from the boys so hopefully we can build on it and take it into the Championship."