We Have To Be Tighter At The Back, Says Justin

First Team
18 Sep 2022
2 Minutes
James Justin says Leicester City must keep fighting to improve their defensive play after a 6-2 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday.

- Leicester City were beaten 6-2 by Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League
- James Justin reacts to the loss to LCFC TV
- Youri Tielemans and James Maddison found the net in the capital for City

The Foxes looked capable going forward, with Youri Tielemans and James Maddison on target at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tielemans converted a penalty early on, won by Justin.

However, the hosts scored four times in the second period, with substitute Son Heung-min scoring a treble to add to Rodrigo Bentancur’s 47th-minute effort.

“They are a team with quality, and I feel like in the end we got a little bit complacent and made a few individual mistakes, including myself,” Justin told LCFC TV.

“We got caught on the counter and that’s what the top sides do to you. We’re just going to keep fighting and keep trying to do what we do.

“It’s something that we’ve got to be better at, just keeping it tight at the back. The forward players are doing more than enough for us to win games and we need to come together as a group and stick together to keep clean sheets.”

City looked positive for large spells of the match, however they were unable to repel Tottenham’s clinical attacks, particularly in the latter stages of the encounter.

Justin said: “It’s a tough one to find the solution for (set-plays). This season, apart from the Arsenal game and this game, we’ve been pretty solid from set-pieces and we’ve just been undone by a couple today. It’s something we’ll look at in the next couple of weeks.

“Both of the goals today are preventable. Sometimes you’ve got to accept that teams are going to get goals every now and then but in these big matches we can’t afford to give goals away at set-pieces.”

Following the first international break of 2022/23, City will entertain Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Monday 3 October (8pm BST kick-off).

“Obviously, it’s pretty low (team morale), but we’ve got to get our heads up and work over the international break, all of us that are here, and try and get back for Forest,” Justin said.

“That’s something that the gaffer loves us to do (be on the front foot) and we’ll have to do it as a team. I feel it’s when we’re at our best, but obviously at the same time we’ve got to keep it tight at the back and keep clean sheets.

“Especially after what happened last year and the way that we’ve started this year, it’s a massive match for us and we’re looking to get three points.”