- Leicester City have exited the UEFA Europa Conference League at the semi-finals stage
- The Foxes fell to a 1-0 defeat by Roma at Stadio Olimpico, losing 2-1 on aggregate
- Manager Brendan Rodgers provided his reaction to LCFC TV at full-time
- The Northern Irishman wants City to finish the 2021/22 season in a positive fashion
Tammy Abraham's 11th-minute header was the difference at Stadio Olimpico, after a 1-1 draw in Leicester, as José Mourinho's men set up a final against Feyenoord later this month. It was a heartbreaking end to the Club's run in Europe, which included wins over Rennes and PSV Eindhoven.
"We’re clearly disappointed," Rodgers told LCFC TV at full-time in Rome. "Obviously, it was a great atmosphere in a brilliant arena to play in, which was fantastic. In the first half, we weren’t so good with the ball I didn’t feel.
"The corner’s been an Achilles heel for us all season to be perfectly honest, so to concede the goal in that manner was hugely disappointing.
"It's been an issue for us all season. We clearly lack physicality. The courage is there for the players, but clearly, within the team, especially with Wilf [Ndidi] missing, we don’t have the physicality in the team. That has been a problem for us all season. We’ve tried man marking, we’ve tried zonal, but it’s too easy to score.
"In the second half, we decided to change it and we really imposed the game. We got well into the final third, we just needed that little bit of luck or that final bit of quality to break through.
"Overall in the game, there wasn’t too many big chances for either side. Each team had, I think, four shots on target. Unfortunately for us, the corner was the one that counted for them."
Moving on from the disappointment in Italy will now be key for Leicester, Rodgers believes. In time, they will reflect on the experiences and lessons learned, but now the manager wants his side to recover quickly and secure a positive end to the 2021/22 campaign.
"Over the last couple of seasons, European football will have opened their eyes," the 49-year-old added. "A lot of them had never experienced that before. Especially this season, coming deep into a European competition is great experience for them.
"They’ll be reborn again next year with that notion that they can look to qualify for Europe and have many more nights. You lose, but you really learn, and I’m sure the players will learn tonight.
"We want to finish the season as strong as we can, as best as we can. We wanted to reach the final… we haven’t done that, but every game now is very, very important for us and we’ll look to show a good reaction and finish the season as high as we can."