Ranieri Sad To Lose Home Record

- Manager Claudio Ranieri expresses his sadness at losing an unbeaten home Premier League run that stretched back to September 2015 

- Ranieri says the Foxes tried to create more chances from wide positions in the second half 

- Many of the City squad will now head out on international duty with their respective nations 

Claudio Ranieri couldn’t hide his disappointment as his Leicester City side were beaten at home in the Premier League for the first time in 14 months at the hands of West Bromwich Albion. 

After a goalless first half that yielded few chances, James Morrison headed the Baggies ahead at King Power Stadium, but it took Islam Slimani just three minutes to respond with a headed goal of his own from a Riyad Mahrez cross. 

The Foxes pressed hard for the winner but when Matt Phillips latched onto a backpass to finish beyond Ron-Robert Zieler it proved enough for the visitors to clinch all three points. 

It was City’s first home loss in the league since falling to Arsenal in September 2015, and afterwards, Ranieri told LCFC TV: “I am very sorry we lost our unbeaten record at home. We knew it would be a tough match against West Bromwich. It was the same last season in the 2-2. 

“The first half was not good. We try to have a plan but it was difficult to do this. The second half was much better but we lost the match. 

“We made a plan to go on the flank and make crosses from the flank but we made very few. Also the end we made some long balls and for the central defenders it was too easy. To say something is easy, to do it is more difficult. Maybe we had Champions League fatigue, I don’t know. 

“I don’t know if they need rest but 80 per cent of my players go to international teams. They don’t have rest. They travel and when they come back it is two days before the Watford match. We have to work. 

“Every match we want to win, to do our best. Today was impossible because West Brom plays in this style. Close together, tough. We tried to surprise them. We surprised them two, three times but we only scored one.”