Ranieri: We Deserved To Win

- The Foxes win 2-1 after extra-time thanks to goals from Joe Dodoo and Andy King 

- The fourth round draw takes place on Wednesday evening 

- Ranieri delighted to have some selection headaches ahead of the weekend after a series of good performances 

Claudio Ranieri praised the spirit of his Leicester City side after they clinched a dramatic extra-time win over West Ham United in the Capital One Cup Third Round at King Power Stadium. 

The Foxes went ahead through youngster Joe Dodoo after just six minutes but were pegged back before the break by a Mauro Zarate strike from the edge of the box. 

But City grew stronger as the game went on and just as the game looked like it might be headed for penalties, up stepped captain-for-the-night Andy King to head the Foxes into the fourth round. 

“It was fantastic spirit and I wanted to see the players who haven’t played in every match,” Ranieri told Foxes Player HD. “They had a fantastic opportunity and they showed some fantastic chances. Minimum 10 chances - clear chances. 

“I think that West Ham’s goalkeeper is man-of-the-match tonight. But we deserved to win. We wanted to win against a first team. West Ham put all their first team players in and I’ve very, very pleased. 

“We kept going all the time. Our fitness is very good. Now it’s important to take the good points. That’s very important. 

“I talked to them in the meeting and I said I want to have difficulties [in my team selection]. I don’t want to sleep at night thinking about choosing my first XI, and they have put me under pressure so I’m very happy.” 

Ranieri was also delighted to see Dodoo, who scored a hat-trick on his senior debut in the last round – find the net again on what was another memorable night for the youngster. 

“He was fantastic,” said Ranieri. “He’s very smart and he was ready to shoot at goal. I’m very happy with him because he’s a very attentive lad and often I speak with him about his best position, how to attack and how to defend. I’m very happy with him.” 

The result means that the Foxes remain unbeaten in all competitions this season, and Ranieri hopes that can give the side an additional boost heading into Saturday’s home clash with Arsenal. 

He added: “It’s very good for our confidence (being unbeaten). Now we are thinking about Arsenal, who are a team building to win the title. For us it will be a very, very good match. It will be a fantastic atmosphere here at King Power Stadium and I hope our fans can enjoy our football.”