Leicester went from first to third and back again – but were eventually dumped out of the Europa League group stages thanks to a 3-2 defeat to Napoli.
The Foxes had come back from goals by Adam Ounas and
Eljif Elmas inside the first half hour to draw level again before half-time, but fell behind after the break when Elmas’ second re-established Napoli’s lead.The visitors spurned a number of chances in an end-to-end, thrilling conclusion to a razor-tight group, but that will be of scant consolation when Brendan Rodgers finds himself contesting the Europa Conference League, the third tier of European club football, when the knockout stages begin in February.
There was one last hope for Leicester when Legia Warsaw were awarded a penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time to draw the game and send the Foxes through ahead of Spartak Moscow, only for goalkeeper Aleksandr Selikhov to save the spot-kick and confirm Leicester’s exit.
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They might not have been too disappointed not to see what unfolded though as Thomas Castagne saw his close-range shot blocked off the line before three minutes had elapsed.
It went from bad to worse for Leicester too in a group where just two points separated first and fourth at kick-off; just a minute later when a loose pass from Caglar Soyuncu left Youri Tielemans powerless to retain possession and Ounas, making his first Napoli start of the season, took full advantage.
By the time the game reached the 25th minute, Leicester’s hopes of even a playoff place looked slim as Spartak Moscow scored in Warsaw to move past them in the standings and back in Italy, Ryan Bertrand played the world onside to allow Napoli to double their lead through Elmas.
The drama was far from over though. As the rain lashed down on Napoli’s half-full but nevertheless noisy stadium, Leicester was fortunate when James Maddison’s poor free-kick hit a defender and fell to an alert Evans, who swept the ball home like a striker rather than a centre-back. Their equaliser six minutes later came from a similarly unfamiliar source: Dewsbury-Hall had never scored for the senior side but connected well enough with a cleared corner for the ball to skip across the turf and beat Alex Meret.
And we had not even reached half-time when Hirving Lozano was taken off on a golf buggy having suffered a freak facial injury, tripping in the pitch and then colliding – at speed, head-first – with Wilfred Ndidi’s sizeable thigh.
The draw would have been good enough to put Napoli out of the Europa League and earn the Foxes a place in a play-off, but they could not take their chances. Twice Maddison was profligate from close range, hitting the post from just 10 yards, but Elmas was, by contrast, assured. The ball was pulled back to him eight yards out, Bertrand again exposed on the left, and he stepped out of a challenge before finishing.
Dewsbury-Hall and Vardy both went close in the final 15 minutes, the latter hitting the side-netting with just his second touch in the opposition box all game. His third, just as stoppage time began, was a free header from six yards that he surely would have expected to score – but he could only head over.
Leicester ratings
Schmeichel – 7
Could did little about the first two goals but made a good stop early in the second half and kept Leicester hopes alive with a reaction save in the final five minutes of normal time.
Castagne – 7
Had a shot blocked on the line after just two-and-a-half minutes and did offer Leicester plenty of attacking merit on the right.
Evans – 6
Alive to a loose ball in the opposition box and struck cleanly to score.
Soyuncu – 5
Did not help Tielemans much with the pass that led to Napoli’s early goal and was regularly exposed, albeit often because of Bertrand’s absence.
Bertrand – 3
Caught badly out of position for the first goal and then stood three yards behind the back line to play everyone onside for the second.
Ndidi – 6
It was too easy for Napoli to break away without the Leicester defence being shielded by their defensive midfielder.
Tielemans – 6
Gave the ball away in midfield to allow Napoli to score
Maddison – 4
Could – and perhaps should – have scored straight after the break and then hit the post from 10 yards out when gifted the chance to score by a poor Napoli pass.
Dewsbury-Hall – 7
Volleyed home from 20 yards to level things after 34 minutes, his first senior goal.
Barnes – 7
Ran hard and direct
Vardy – 6
Was given little opportunity to get into the game. Just one touch inside the opposition box in the first hour.
Subs
Daka – 7
Lovely backheel almost set up Dewsbury-Hall equaliser.
Soumare – 6
Did not have long enough to make an impact but did badly overhit one crucial pass.
Albrighton – n/a
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3Gw5ECA
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