Leicester's togetherness and organisation perfect, says Claude Puel
Foxes beat Everton 1-0 in the Premier League on New Year's Day
Tuesday 1 January 2019 17:03, UK
Claude Puel said Leicester's togetherness and organisation were perfect as they beat Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park.
Jamie Vardy's 58th-minute strike earned the Foxes their third win in four games over the festive period and moved them up to seventh in the Premier League table.
Puel was pleased with his side's performance and felt they displayed the right strength to win away from home after a busy few weeks.
"In the first half, we had good solidity, we were strong in defence and had a good block," he told Sky Sports. "We worked a lot of balls with good work on the pitch, but sometimes we need to improve our start with the ball because we lost some good balls to make some good counter-attacks.
"It was important to come out in the second half with the same desire and togetherness to use in some situations. It was a good opportunity with the ball recovery by Ricardo (Pereira), it was a good assist [for the goal] and we know the finish of Jamie in these situations.
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"I think we can have better situations in the first half with the ball recovery but it was perfect with good timing and a good moment to score this goal. We've had some difficult balls to play in the second half but the togetherness and organisation from the team was perfect.
"I am happy for the players because we lost our last game at home to Cardiff, which was not a fair result, and we said after the game that we should try to take these three points away.
"It was a difficult challenge, of course. Everton are a team with lot of ambition, character and strengths. This moment is a busy period, all the players are tired and they have had to play like us. But the most important thing is to show our strength in this moment and to handle the situation in the right way."
Tuesday's game was Puel's 50th in charge of Leicester, but he was coy when asked if their recent victories against Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton showed how he had improved the team.
He added: "I don't know. I think it is always a different challenge to play against any opponent because a lot of teams have different styles and we need to have a good adaption to this."
