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EFL Cup: Iheanacho’s coach proud of his team’s performance despite their loss to Liverpool

Goals from Cody Gakpo, Szoboslai and Diogo Jota sunk Kelechi Iheanacho’s Leicester City in the Carabao Cup.

Kelechi Iheanacho’s head coach, Enzo Maresca, has praised his side for their performance at Anfield, despite bowing out of the Carabao Cup, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Foxes took the lead through in-form academy graduate, Kasey McAteer, as they ran rampage, scoring from a counterattack that came from a Liverpool corner-kick.

Leicester couldn’t muster enough shots on target, but the style of play of the Italian manager was evident, as they tried to successfully play out from the back, ending the game with 43% of the ball possession.

Wilfred Ndidi came on with a few minutes left to the hour mark, to help his side be more robust in the middle of the park, meanwhile, his National team compatriot, Iheanacho, was withdrawn just after the hour mark, replaced by the Zambian Patson Daka.

Goals from Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboslai and Diogo Jota ensured victory for Jurgen Klopp’s men, but despite a loss for Enzo Maresca’s Foxes, the manager saw positives.

Speaking to Leicester’s official website in his post-match conference, the 43-year-old manager praised his team for keeping to his style of play.

“To continue in the way we want to play on the ball, off the ball, I’m very proud of them. In the game, we were 1-0 up, and we finished the first half 1-0. The results are very important for sure, but for me tonight the most important part was to see how we come here and play face-to-face against a big team.” he said.

The manager admitted that the atmosphere in the Anfield stadium is a sight to behold and was pleased that his team didn’t crack under pressure.

“I think we played in the way we wanted to play and the way we are working every day, the most important thing was to come here against this opponent, in this stadium, and not change the way we want to play. It’s always a chance to learn something.” Maresca added.

Leicester’s hopes are that their loss against Liverpool won’t deter their chances of promotion, as they travel to Ewood Park on Independence to face Blackburn Rovers in their bid to secure all three points.

 

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria. With a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience. He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.

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