Northern France Awaits The Foxes
Pastries, tea and coffee welcomed journalists to LCFC Training Ground Wednesday for an early start to press duties. Local and national members of the press were able to pose questions to Academy star Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and manager Brendan Rodgers.
Seagrave was the setting for City’s pre-match activities ahead of what could be an enthralling tie across the English Channel. Leicester hold a 2-0 advantage from the first leg, but their opponents have clear quality, especially in attack.
Evidence of that further transpired over the weekend, when they scored four goals away to Lyon in a 4-2 success, with three of those strikes coming in the first half. That narrative carried through both press conferences.
“We saw they do have great quality and in the first game they showed that in spells of the game,” said Dewsbury-Hall while sat on the King Power Centre’s top table.
“We know they’re doing well in the French league, and they score a lot of goals. It’s good that we’ve got a little cushion, but we don’t want to take our foot off the gas.”
Dewsbury-Hall spoke well, navigating questions surrounding England call-ups, future club captaincy and playing at the top level throughout his career. That is, of course, the target for the Academy star, whose grounded nature matches his ambition and ability.
“I know how hard it is to get to the point we’re at as professional players, it’s a lot of hard work and sacrifice,” he signed off to journalists, both in-person and via video call. Many City fans, of which 1,100 will make their way to Brittany via plane, train or ferry, will be hoping to see him on the pitch in a little over 24 hours’ time.
Rodgers was next up, and immediately highlighted Les Rouge et Noir’s efficiency in front of goal. The clear game plan will be to nullify their advances, with their forward exploits second only to Paris Saint-Germain in the league.
“You always go into a game to win,” he said. “We know we’ll have to defend, they’ll probably come out to make up two goals. They’re a good attacking team, so they’ll be on the front foot. In key moments of the game, we need to make sure we’re together.
“We know we’ll have to suffer a bit away to Rennes, but we also know we have the quality to win the tie. If we get through this tie, it’ll give us that extra motivation again to get through to the final.”
Time to hit the training pitches. After missing the first leg due to COVID, the inclusion of Wesley Fofana in the travelling squad will be a monumental boost to Rodgers, who oversaw Wednesday’s pre-match proceedings in north Leicestershire.
The all-black attire signalled another European fixture was just a day away, and two further players pictured that will no doubt elevate the squad were defenders Jonny Evans and Timothy Castagne, who although not travelling, will be a welcome sight.
After refuelling at lunchtime, a mid-afternoon flight out to Rennes followed. Departing the United Kingdom in conditions befitting that of winter rather than those approaching spring, the Foxes will arrive in the medieval city of Rennes in the evening.
It’s befitting that with the five-year anniversary of City’s iconic UEFA Champions League victory over Sevilla coming just three days prior to the match Rennes, the Foxes will again be seeking a quarter-final berth in European competition come 8pm on Thursday.