We’ll Learn From The Game, Says Rodgers
- Brendan Rodgers felt Leicester City were unfortunate not too beat Napoli on Thursday
- The Foxes drew 2-2 on Filbert Way in their UEFA Europa League Group C opener
- Ayoze Pérez and Harvey Barnes were on target for the hosts
The Foxes were held on Filbert Way in their maiden Group C fixture, despite taking a two-goal lead thanks to efforts from Ayoze Pérez and Harvey Barnes.
A double from Victor Osimhen sealed a point for the visitors, but Rodgers reflected on several positive moments during a hard-fought contest on home soil.
“It was an exciting game,” he told LCFC TV. “We’re obviously disappointed we didn’t win the game. We were in a great position, but we were playing against a really experienced team and we just couldn’t see it through. We’ll learn from that.
“I said to the players afterwards, there was so many good things in the game, but we’ve got to keep the ball better because by the end, when you don’t have the ball so much and you’re chasing the game, you can tire that little bit.
“We had some players getting their first 90 minutes of the season as well, and then obviously, their big striker (Victor Osimhen), who’s £70-odd-million, so you can see his quality, and he gets his two goals.
“Overall, if you can’t win it, even though we were in a good position, you make sure you don’t lose it and the point is a start for us. Now, we’ve got another nine or 10 to go.”
Rodgers was particularly pleased with Boubakary Soumaré and Patson Daka, who on their first starts for the Football Club impressed the Northern Irishman.
Soumaré was a commanding presence in midfield, while Daka was unfortunate not to score his first goal for City after having a strike ruled out for offside by VAR.
“I thought Bouba was excellent in the game,” Rodgers continued. “He had a little spell at the beginning of the second half.
“He looked a little leggy, but then he’d done one or two pieces of skill and came back into the game. He was good. That was his first 70 minutes, so I’m delighted with that.
“Patson is always a goal threat. [I’m] disappointed that he couldn’t get the goal, because it was a great finish, but both those players are young players learning at their level, and how we work, and I’m sure they’ll prove to be very, very good players this season.”