Rodgers blasts Leicester for gifting it to West Ham after trio’s Covid breach

Brendan Rodgers bemoaned the way Leicester “handed it to West Ham on a plate” in their defeat at the London Stadium.

Leicester suffered a blow in their bid to stay in the top four as they fell to their fellow European challengers. West Ham raced into a 3-0 lead before the Foxes tried to fight back. They reduced the deficit by two but were unable to get a late equaliser despite much pressure.

Rodgers’ men remain in the top four as a result, but the race to finish in the Champions League spaces is getting more and more intriguing.

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After being in the top four for most of last season before slipping out, they will be keen to avoid a similar fate.

“It was very disappointing,” he told Sky Sports. “The second half was more what I expect but we were very passive in the first half.

“We lacked aggression. We gave away poor goals. The goals are awful, all three and we had a mountain to climb.

“We lacked a bit of courage to get on the ball, we were slow and were not moving so well. Second half our counter pressing was much better but we handed it to West Ham on a plate.

“The second goal is really poor in every aspect. They had one space to hit, long, we tried to play offside and we didn’t recover. A really poor goal.”


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Rodgers disappointed by dropped trio

Leicester had to make do without three senior players who were left out of the squad due to breaching Covid-19 protocols. James Maddison, Ayoze Perez and Hamza Choudhury all missed out as a result.

Rodgers admitted their behaviour did not meet their standards, but will welcome them back next week.

“It was a decision I made, an internal situation last weekend,” he said. “It is not the standard we expect.

“They are all good guys, good lads, but we have a standard on and off the pitch that we have to adhere to.

“The boys will rejoin the group after this game. It’s internal, it’s something we have dealt with. The boys, it’s disappointing behaviour, it’s a mistake. It’s not what we are about.

“We have a set of values for the team, for this football club. The players in the main have been great but they will rejoin the group next week.”

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