Casadei: A Really Great Job
- Leicester City defeated Millwall 3-2 at The Den in the Emirates FA Cup Third Round on Saturday
- Cesare Casadei opened the scoring before strikes from Ricardo Pereira and Tom Cannon
- The Italian says he's delighted to have contributed to an important victory
Casadei headed City's opener in the capital before goals from Ricardo Pereira and Tom Cannon made sure of the 3-2 victory, with Duncan Watmore and Zian Flemming netting for the home side.
Leicester will discover their next FA Cup opponents on Monday, but their No.7 was pleased to play a prominent role in an encouraging performance from a side which included seven changes to Enzo Maresca's XI.
"I think we did a really great job today because it wasn’t easy," the Italian said at full-time. "We faced them in the Championship a few games ago so we knew it would be a difficult game, but we managed to win the game, so we’re happy."
Adapting to changes to the line-up, Casadei says he and the team can take pride in the way their performed in the capital, resisting a late challenge from Millwall to avoid a replay.
"It’s not easy," he added. "Today, there were a lot of guys who didn’t get a lot of minutes so far. I think we did a really great job. In the first half, it was a bit more difficult.
"There wasn’t space in the middle of the pitch but, at the end, we kept the ball and managed to find the goals. [In the second half], when you concede a goal in the last minutes, it’s never easy.
"They were confident but I think we did a great job to defend altogether. We suffered in the last minutes. We should have scored to make it 4-2 but it doesn’t matter. The only thing that really matters is that we won the game and we’re really happy."
The midfielder on loan from Chelsea was also thrilled to notch his third goal of the season, helping the Foxes go in front despite a strong start from Joe Edwards' Lions.
"[Millwall] started so well, but fortunately we scored before them," Casadei continued. We scored twice before them. We conceded goals from set-pieces, so we need to improve in that because it’s important.
"I’m tall so I try to use my body as much as I can when I go into the box and fortunately today I received a really good ball from [Marc] Albrighton. I went into the box and the ball came to me and I scored.
"I always try to help the team whenever the Manager decides to let me play. I have to play as good as I can so I always try to give my best to the team to help them win as many games as possible."