The manager of Leicester City, Brendan Rodgers was filled with Lamentation after Championship side Nottingham Forest humiliated his team in the FA Cup 4th round on Sunday, February 6, 2022.
Leicester City traveled to East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest to play the 4th round of the FA Cup as the defending champions of the tournament. They were expected to beat the Championship side to book a date with Huddersfield Town in the 5th round of the competition but the reverse was the case.
Brendan Rodgers and his team started to struggle in the game as early as the first 30 minutes. They conceded a 23rd-minute goal that left the Premier League side off balance. A minute after, Nottingham Forest doubled their lead to make it more difficult for the visitors.
When Leicester City thought they have seen enough, the Championship side made it a three-goal lead within the space of 32 minutes. In the 40th minute, Leicester City tried to fight back as Kelechi Iheanacho reduced the deficit.
The second half of the game was not as open as the first half but the Championship side were able to make it four goals in the 61st minute. After a series of attempts by both sides, the scoreline remained the same. Hence, the game ended 4-1 in favor of the hosts.
🔴 @NFFC ran riot at the City Ground putting 4️⃣ past @LCFC!#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/6HvoNZpTu5
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 6, 2022
The defeat means that Leicester City will not have the opportunity to defend the FA Cup title further. They are the third heavyweight team to be knocked out of the competition after Arsenal and Manchester United.
In his reaction to the humiliating 4-1 defeat, coach Brendan Rodgers admitted that his team made a couple of mistakes in the game that worked against the team.
Brendan Rodgers whose team is also struggling in the Premier League noted that his players lacked the hunger and physicality needed during the FA Cup 4th round game.
He said: “We made mistakes and the mistakes then affect the confidence through the team. You go two quick goals behind and you’re chasing the game then.
“For me, it’s something that I’ve seen for a little period now. These players, some of them have done very well, but we lacked that hunger and physicality, which was never the case and is something that’s a concern.
“We lacked stability at the back, gave away poor goals and the two quick goals rocked us. In a game of this importance – particularly a derby game, away from home – you need to have authority and you need to have physicality, and we lacked that in abundance.
“They deserved to win – scored the goals, showed a greater desire and that’s the disappointment.”
Brendan Rodgers is disappointed over the Leicester City fan that attacked Nottingham Forest player
During the FA Cup 4th round match between Leicester City and Nottingham Forest, a fan of Leicester ran from the stands to the pitch and appeared to be throwing punches at a Forest player who was celebrating a goal.
The fan was taken away by the security operatives. The Nottinghamshire Police have confirmed that the man has been arrested and further investigation into the incident has commenced.
Also, Leicester City have issued a statement to apologize to Forest over the incident and vowed to slam a lifetime ban on the fan.
While reacting to the incident, coach Brendan Rodgers stressed that no amount of disappointment should frustrate a fan to the extent of attacking a player.
He said: “There’s no room for it and I’m sure as a club we’ll deal with that. It should never happen, no matter how disappointing your team is and how they’ve been playing.
“The players have to be safe on the field. It was a great atmosphere today. I feel a big disappointment for our supporters, but we can never accept that behavior.”
Shocking by the Leicester fan #nffc #FACup #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/XN0i0Un4NQ
— joe (@joesoiza_) February 6, 2022
Now that Leicester City are out of the FA Cup, they will focus on finishing strong in the Premier League. Their next league match which is scheduled to take place on February 10, 2022, at 20:45 is against Liverpool.
Brendan Rodgers and his boys are currently occupying the 10th spot on the league table with 26 points in 20 games,
