Brendan Rodgers praises Leicester’s professional performance against Randers

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers hailed “a job well done” by his players after beating Danish side Randers 4-1 in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off.

The Foxes took the lead at the King Power Stadium through a 23rd-minute effort from Wilfred Ndidi before the visitors surprised with a 45th-minute equalizer through captain Vito Hammershoy-Mistrati.

Harvey Barnes put Rodgers’ men in front four minutes after the break and Patson Daka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added finishes in the 55th and 74th minutes respectively as Leicester secured an ultimately comfortable victory for next Thursday’s second leg.

Rodgers, whose side are in contention for a place in the last 16 of this competition after finishing third in their Europa League group, said: “I think it was a really good performance.

“We continued our weekend football, the second half (of the 2-2 draw with West Ham).

“I think we dominated the game, created a lot of chances, reacted well to the disappointment of the half-time goal, the players stayed calm, kept their structure, kept the speed of the game and got their Their goalkeeper (Patrik Carlgren) made fantastic saves to limit the score.

“So yeah the job was done in the first leg and now we have to finish it next week. We had to really work tonight but it was a job well done.

A concern towards the end of the match was substitute James Maddison coming off after losing the ball, and Caglar Soyuncu was then sent off through injury.

Rodgers said Maddison felt “bad” but is now fine.

James Maddison withdrew in the second half due to illness (Mike Egerton/PA)

“I spoke to him,” Rodgers said. “He just felt a little funny in the game, so we didn’t want to take any chances with that. He wasn’t feeling well, so we just took him off and he went to see the doctors.

“I think (taking his pulse) is just something they (medical staff) will do to see how he is feeling. He was seated when I spoke to him. He felt a little bad in the game, he fainted a little, but he’s fine.

Regarding Soyuncu, he said, “Cags injured his knee when he landed, so we will have to assess that tomorrow.”

Leicester recorded over 20 attempts on goal, with Carlgren producing good work to deny efforts, while Daniel Amartey was responsible for the most notable missed chance, heading from close range as he looked certain to score just before legalization.

Thomas Thomasberg
Thomas Thomasberg felt Leicester were worth fair value for their win (Mike Egerton/PA)

Randers boss Thomas Thomasberg said: “The result was disappointing for us.

“I know there was a difference between a Premier League team and a Danish Superliga team. (But) I think they created too many chances during the game. When you don’t get cards yellows in a game where you meet good and better opponents… you have to play them a little smart and hard.

“We had a good keeper today. I think the result was a picture of the game – it was a fair and deserved win for Leicester.

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