Puel: Tough To Accept

- Leicester City beaten 5-0 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park
- Wilfried Zaha and James McArthur put the hosts 2-0 up
- Wilfred Ndidi goes off injured and Marc Albrighton is sent off within 10 minutes of a positive start to the second half
- Palace score three times in the final 10 minutes to kill of City’s hopes of salvaging anything from the match  

After creating a few early chances, City went behind to an impressive strike from in-form Wilfried Zaha, and despite pushing for a leveller, James McArthur made things even more difficult when he doubled that lead seven minutes before the break with another good finish.

Puel made a double change at half-time, with City much-improved, but they used their final substitution in the 51st minute, when Wilfred Ndidi went off with an injury – with Harry Maguire moving into midfield as City kept the pressure on.

However just five minutes later, Marc Albrighton was dismissed for fouling Zaha as last man, and despite continued efforts to get the goal that would haul them back into the game, Palace ended those hopes with three strikes in the final 10 minutes from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Patrick van Aanholt and a Christian Benteke penalty.

Speaking afterwards, Puel said: “It’s a tough game for us. From the beginning of the game it was not too bad and there was good balance. I think we had the first chances to score in the game but when they scored they took confidence.

“For us it was the opposite and in the last 25 minutes we lost a lot of duels and with it the balance. It was important to come back in the second half with a good reaction.

“We tried to make a tactical change but after five minutes there was the injury to Wilfred Ndidi and then the sending off and a penalty. With the changes we didn’t have a solution to have a better balance in the team. We tried to come back into the game but we conceded three goals in the last 10 minutes. It’s difficult to accept.”

On Ndidi’s injury, Puel added: “I hope it is not a serious injury for Ndidi and I hope he can play in the World Cup, all the scenarios today were bad for us. We will see. It is a hamstring injury. I hope it is not serious of course because it is an important moment.”