- The Foxes were beaten 4-2 after extra time at King Power Stadium on Tuesday evening
- Okazaki netted a brace in the first half to put City 2-0 up
- Chelsea went on to win the tie thanks to strikes from David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta and Cesc Fabregas' double
Shinji Okazaki believes the timing of Chelsea’s first goal had a huge bearing on the outcome of Leicester City’s EFL Cup Third Round clash at King Power Stadium on Tuesday evening.
A brace from the Japan international striker put a much-changed City side into a 2-0 lead inside the first period, but Gary Cahill’s goal on the stroke of half-time gave Chelsea a lifeline heading into the second half.
Antonio Conte’s men rallied and drew level through Cesar Azpilicueta, who hammered in a brilliant volley from 25 yards just three minutes after the break.
An even affair followed, before Marcin Wasilewski was dismissed late on for a challenge on Diego Costa to give Chelsea a one-man advantage in extra-time.
Chelsea capitalised on that and eventually ran out 4-2 winners after extra time thanks to Cesc Fabregas’ well-taken double.
Speaking to LCFC TV after the defeat, Okazaki said: “We’re very disappointed about the game because we lost. We had a good start but Chelsea’s second half was very strong.
“We lost one goal in the last minute of the first half and it changed the atmosphere [of the game]. Then it went to 2-2 but we had good spirit.
“Also, playing 10 men against 11 men is very difficult but we played 120 minutes in a good game.”
Okazaki got himself on the scoresheet with two opportunistic finishes and the City striker is now hoping to build on his brace.
He added: “For me, scoring two goals is important because I’m a striker. I didn’t score for a long time and I scored, so it’s okay. It’s very important for me to keep going.”