Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers enjoyed the Stadio Olimpico atmosphere in the Conference League semi-final and admits corners have ‘been our problem all season’ after defeat to Roma.
“Of course when you lose a second leg of a semi-final it’s disappointing. I thought the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic from both sets of supporters. It was a great arena to come and play in,” Rodgers told BT Sport.
“In the second half we were much better. We imposed ourselves and made changes. In the first half it wasn’t aggressive enough. The players kept going until the very end but we couldn’t find that big chance. There wasn’t many in the game for both teams.”
Conference League | Roma 1-0 Leicester (2-1 agg): Abraham books Final ticket
The first leg ended 1-1 at the King Power Stadium, but the decider was 11 minutes into this evening’s match when Tammy Abraham soared above everyone to nod in Lorenzo Pellegrini’s corner.
“The corner… It’s been our problem all season. We have tried every structure in the box – man-marking and zonal – but clearly we lack physicality in the team to deal with certain situations consistently and that has cost us tonight.”
Leicester improved after the break when moving to a three-man defence, therefore mirroring Jose Mourinho’s Roma tactics.
“We really dominated the first leg and had opportunities so we always had it in the back of the mind that we might need to change it and get an extra body through the middle. The players responded really well second half.
“It’s been a great journey for us in Europe in the last couple of years. We have a lot of young players that are finding their way and this was a great experience for them. That will provide motivation for them next season.
“We just missed out so we’re disappointed but we need to finish the season strongly now and look to progress in the summer for next season.”
TAMMY ABRAHAM! WHAT A HEADER! 🤩
A fantastic corner from Lorenzo Pellegrini is fiercely met by Roma’s number nine 💥
Incredible start at the Olimpico! 🙌#UECL pic.twitter.com/HkXukUDGNe
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 5, 2022