Matchday Live Talking Points: Credit To Villa & Pushing On
The Foxes suffered a late defeat at Villa Park as Mahmoud Trezeguet struck in the third minute of four added on at the end of a pulsating clash in Birmingham, resulting in a 3-2 aggregate reverse.
Speaking live on air following full-time, Matt Elliott and Steve Walsh, in the studio, and Gerry Taggart, in the pressbox, assessed the tie and looked ahead to Saturday's visit of Chelsea (12:30pm GMT kick-off).
Credit to Villa
Matt Elliott said: “Ultimately, you have to give credit to Villa. They were maybe better than people expected. They were resolute and they made it a real contest. In the second half, when Leicester got the goal, you expected them to really pile the pressure on, but they didn’t quite manage to do it. It could have gone either way, but it’s dejection from Leicester’s point of view, for the players, supporters and ourselves, but it wasn’t to be.”
A ferocious battle
Steve Walsh said: “I’ve been there before, losing a game like this. It’s disappointing, but you’ve got to give credit to both teams over the two legs, for their commitment and the ferocity of the battle. The pendulum swung both ways. City got the equaliser and then they were in the ascendancy and then the last-minute goal happens. Leicester have got to recover now. There were certain things Leicester didn’t do right, but they were very unlucky.”
Be effective in possession
Gerry Taggart said: “Leicester won the league with an average of about 30 per cent possession. It’s not all about possession, but it’s clear Leicester dominated. There’s more than one way to win a game of football, though, and we saw that at Villa. It could have gone either way, there’s no doubt about it. Both teams had opportunities to win the game. After sitting back in Leicester, they kept coming at home. Even when they conceded, they kept coming.”
A terrific season for City
Steve Walsh said: “It’s happened now, it’s gone. We’ve got to be positive and pick ourselves up for the weekend. It’ll be tough for some of the young lads to take and it’ll be interesting to see how they respond from this. Listen, they’re having a terrific season and they were on the cusp of a final, which they’ve narrowly missed out on. When you look at the performance over the two legs, they created enough chances, but Villa did well too.”
Use this to push on
Matt Elliott said: “You’ve got to gain desire and determination from setbacks. It can give you an even greater motivation to not let it occur another time. That’s the theory. We’ll see if that develops. Brendan [Rodgers] wants to see a desire from his players to win competitions. The feeling this type of pain can drive you on. It’s an opportunity missed, and I’m sure Brendan would rather be dealing with the motivational benefits of winning, but losing can spur you on too.”
An important few days
Gerry Taggart said: “It’s an important few days for Brendan and his team to make sure the players recover from this, which I’m sure they will. Their young, hungry footballers, who want to be successful. That’s the main thing. If they want to be successful, you have to recover quickly from disappointments like tonight. We move on to the game on Saturday against Chelsea. Hopefully, they’ll get back on track with a win in that one.”