- Marc Albrighton reflects on Leicester City’s 4-1 Emirates FA Cup win over Watford
- The No.11 captained the Foxes, scoring their fourth goal of the afternoon
- He lauded a number of youngsters who made their debut for the Club
Three youngsters – Lewis Brunt, Wanya Marcal-Madivadua and Will Alves – were handed debuts for the Football Club as they came into an XI that had been severely hit by injury, illness and international duty.
However, the Foxes cruised into the fourth round of the competition they won for the first time last season, with Albrighton rounding off the scoring on Filbert Way.
“It’s a great day,” he told LCFC TV. “Like the manager’s said, he was proud after the Liverpool game when we won 1-0, bit it’s a different kind of pride today.
“We’ve had adversity and the week that we had in terms of losing players most days, whether that be to illness or injury, for the young lads it’s a fantastic opportunity for them.
“They’ve been training with us and then they’ve stepped in today and looked like they’ve been playing for years. It’s an incredible day to be a part of such a fantastic team and a fantastic squad effort.”
One man in particular impressed Albrighton after Brunt – usually a centre-back – operated in central midfield before dropping into left-back.
When asked whether he had to deliver an inspirational speech as skipper before the game, he said: “Not quite, it was just to relax a few players and make them feel like there’s no pressure!
“The young lads, I was chatting to Brunty (Lewis Brunt) and he said the most he’d played in front of before today was four or 500 people, so to come here and give the performance that he did in front of 25,000 people is absolutely incredible.
“The build-up is harder than the actual game. He was lucky that he found out this morning instead of yesterday! I think if he found out yesterday, he’d have had a sleepless night, but he’s come in today and showed confidence from minute one.
“He got himself around, he made tackles, but he was composed on the ball and looked like he’d been doing it all his life.”
In the centre of defence, meanwhile, was Academy graduate Hamza Choudhury, who produced a series of blocks and perfectly-timed tackles to stave off Watford’s attack.
Albrighton said: “He has got all of the attributes to play in that position, and I think that’s why the manager trusted him so much to play there.
“He’s a great presser, a great reader of the game, and his tackles are incredible sometimes, so he’s another player who’s had to wait for his chance, but every time he steps in, he does everything. He’s ready for that occasion and today he was superb.”
Outlining City’s aims for the 2021/22 competition, he added: “That’s got to be the aim, we’re not out here to defend the FA Cup, we’re here to retain it.
“There’s no point in entering a competition and not wanting to go all the way. We’ve proved that we’ve done it before, and that’s our next step to doing it again.”