‘Leicester Just Came Up A Little Bit Short’ - Elliott’s Take On Spartak Draw
- Leicester City drew 1-1 with Spartak Moscow at Leicester City Stadium
- Daniel Amartey equalised in the UEFA Europa League group stage clash
- Ex-City captain Matt Elliott ran the rule over proceedings on LCFC Radio
- He felt the Foxes were punished for not creating enough opportunities
Brendan Rodgers’ side could have moved level on points with Napoli at the top of Group C with a win but, after a relatively low-key first half at Leicester City Stadium, they fell behind to Victor Moses’ 51st-minute goal.
The response was swift, though, with Daniel Amartey heading home Youri Tielemans’ corner just seven minutes later. City were then unable to break through once more, hitting the frame of the goal twice and seeing Jamie Vardy’s penalty saved by Spartak ‘keeper Aleksandr Selikhov.
It leaves Leicester third in the group, on five points, ahead of meeting the top two sides – Napoli and Legia Warsaw - while Rui Vitória’s outfit are fourth, but still in with a shout of reaching the knockout stages.
Speaking in his post-match summary of proceedings during LCFC Radio’s Matchday Live coverage, Elliott felt the final piece of the puzzle was missing on the night as the hosts failed to back up their win in the Russian capital two weeks ago.
“You could tell by the reaction at the final whistle, it was an anti-climax really,” the former Foxes captain admitted. “There was a lot of expectation that Leicester would go on and win this game and win it convincingly.
“On the evidence we saw in Moscow two weeks ago, it was a much-improved Russian outfit tonight, more disciplined, more organised. Leicester just came up a little bit short on the night. Fair play to the visitors, they worked their socks off, but the draw doesn’t do either side too many favours.”
Elliott also believes a lack of creativity proved to be decisive on the night as Leicester enjoyed 77 per cent possession and had 13 shots on goal, but just three hit the target. Spartak’s only shot on target, meanwhile, found the back of the net.
He explained: “There wasn’t enough invention there. They tried it occasionally with the first-time balls from [Boubabary] Soumaré and [Wilfred] Ndidi when Leicester got the penalty, and one or two other instances, but the Russians looked a much more compact outfit.
"Leicester had all the possession but weren’t able to do much with it. How much was the goalkeeper worked tonight? A few times with crosses he came out and did reasonably okay in those scenarios. Obviously, you’ve got to give him credit for the penalty save.
“Then the big moment was [Kiernan] Dewsbury-Hall heading towards goal, [Kelechi] Iheanacho getting in the way and then blasting the post when nine times out of 10, he smashes it into the back of the net, but there weren’t enough incidents like that.
City & Spartak Claim A Point
Dan Amartey cancelled out Victor Moses' opener during Thursday's UEFA Europa League clash on Filbert Way.
“There wasn’t too much wrong but there was a lack of incision at vital times. Credit to Moscow for that. The key moments could have put a totally different reflection on it.
“Brendan Rodgers will look at the general game and think Leicester were largely in control for the majority of the game, but they were maybe a little shot shy. There weren’t enough shots on goal. That can draw the defence out a little bit and then you can play through them a little bit better.
“Players have got to step up. Tactically, they tried to do it the orthodox way, but sometimes football is not always about structure. Sometimes you have to have a little gamble. If you don’t buy a ticket, you can’t win. A little bit of off-the-cuff endeavour was needed.”