Premier League: Leicester City boss rues missed chances in 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace
Saturday 27 September 2014 18:48, UK
Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson accepts that his side were ‘second best’ in the second half of their 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace.
After heading into half-time at 0-0, quick-fire goals from Palace’s Fraizer Campbell and Mile Jedinak in the opening ten minutes of the second period condemned the Foxes to their second Premier League defeat of the season.
Leicester commanded 66% of possession in the first 45 minutes, and Pearson believes their lack of ball retention in the second half was ultimately costly.
“We lost our control in possession – they always make it difficult for you to break them down,” Pearson told Sky Sports.
“We needed to keep our patience but it didn’t quite happen for us today, so it’s a missed opportunity.
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“I’m sure Neil will be really happy with his players’ performances. It was two sides going about the game in the right way in terms of their honesty and hard work, but today we’ve been second best in the second half.”
City forward Jamie Vardy had a golden chance to open the scoring inside the first 15 minutes but could not capitalise, and Pearson believes that his side lacked a clinical edge throughout the clash at Selhurst Park.
“We started the game pretty well. In the first half, we looked pretty comfortable. We’ve certainly had our chances again today but to concede two goals through set-plays is always going to have a disappointing feeling to it,” he said.
“We had three good opportunities in the first half to get in front, one quickly after the break and that shows you how ruthless you have to be. It’s another learning experience for our players.
“The most important thing is that, so far, our performances have been pretty good and have warranted some decent results. Today, our performance was not quite what I expected from us.”
When asked whether he was happy with Leicester's return of eight points in six league games, Pearson responded: "I don’t quite see it like that, because we had eight points at the start of today.
"Today we could have been better, and it would have been more satisfying to get something out of the game."
