Kelechi Iheanacho should have scored a late goal to dent Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes, said Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers.
Iheanacho came off the bench with 10 minutes to go at the Etihad Stadium on Monday with Leicester trailing 1-0 to Vincent Kompany’s unstoppable 25-yard strike.
The former City striker who was sold ro Leicester City by Pep Guardiola wasted a glorious opportunity to earn the Foxes a draw, which would have left Liverpool in top spot in the table. And this has consequently set tongues wagging.
Iheanacho has not scored a single Premier League goal this season but Rodgers felt the Nigeria international ought to have made more of his late chance.
“He should score, I said that to him afterwards, in the big games there are not many moments,” Rodgers told a news conference of Iheanacho’s miss.
Also Read: Kompany’s Stunner Sends Man City Back To EPL Summit
“It was tight, we were very, very good in our defensive organisations. They didn’t have many chances and we didn’t have many. But the one that came, you have to score that. He knows.
“It’s moments when you can come into the game and make an impact, he’s a great boy, works very, very hard in training.
“He’s got in front of him a top-class operator in Jamie [Vardy] so it’s difficult for him to find rhythm. However, it’s moments like that where you can make an impact. He’s actually done that in the other games.
“It was a big chance for him (Iheanacho). The ball was there and it was on his good side. But it wasn’t to be. He got himself in the position … I felt we would have deserved that at least.”
Leicester were keeping City at bay until Kompany’s rocket, although they posed little threat of their own. Iheanacho’s late miss made it a regrettable defeat, ending any hopes of catching Wolves in seventh spot.
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COMMENTS
Samuel Chukwueze should replace Ihenancho going to Afcon. It’s obvious, kelechi is match rusty and don’t have that fire power to go for a kill in matches anymore but he will recover his mojo back if he can go to a club where he will play regular futbal.
Iheanacho has cost Liverpool the EPL title. I hope he never visits Liverpool in many years to come
Boy oh boy!
Get the hell out of Leicester city and go and look for a club you can play regular football to regain your form and confidence.
U just nailed it with that word ‘Confidence’. The kid is seriously lacking in confidence and self belief. A good pass in a good position on his (previously) deadly foot and i just sunk into my chair after seeing the ball roll towards the corner flag. The way he hurriedly scoofed the ball said it all. Oh…dear Kele….? Whom didst thou offend this much…?
Rodgers made it clear in the post-match conference he was going to get a couple of players in the summer to beef up his squad. Isn’t it an easy guess of the players that may become surplus to requirement by August, especially after scuffing a glorious chance to warm his way back into the manager’s heart? Rodgers was blunt and sharp in his response to the question. “He should have scored,” he blurted without hesitation or beating around the bush.
Let me also say mine bluntly: “Kele, stop fraternising with AY and his over-priced and dry comedy shows with over-repeated stale jokes. Leave the gang of Phyno, Timaya and the rest. Focus on football and family and you may regain your mojo and confidence. If Rohr leaves you out of the Afcon party, that certainly won’t spell a good thing for you going forward.”
And lastly, Kele, you missed that on-purpose. Don’t even argue it cos a polygraph (lie-detector) test will scream it loud for you and everyone!
Iheanacho shocked Leicester, Liverpool and Super Eagles fans after the criminal miss in the final five minutes of the Man City vs Leicester City game last night; an effort which could have tied the game, delighted Brendan Rodgers, raise his own profile and make a case for the 22 year old to be included in Nigeria’s Afcon squad.
After many months of making the case for Iheanacho to be included in the 2019 Afcon squad, I am now firmly of the opinion that it will be in Iheanacho’s best interest in the short term if he is excluded from the 2019 Afcon party.
The young man needs a hand across his shoulders and well meaning fans will join me in encouraging him to come off the sidelines and get back into the game!
Nigeria needs Iheanacho.
A fit and firing Iheanacho is an asset that cannot just be ignored.
But he needs to rediscover himself. He needs to free his mind. He also needs to man-up (he is too emotional which dictates his form and feeds into his confidence!).
Brendan Rodgers said after Iheanacho’s catastrophic miss: “He should score, I said that to him afterwards, in the big games there are not many moments”
However, in the same interview, the former Liverpool coach said:”he’s a great boy, works very, very hard in training.”
That is good! Iheanacho should spend the summer working and training hard so he can return next season a different player rather than going to the Afcon.
Like I said earlier, Nigeria needs Iheanacho but not on this form; on the form he was before and the form he can be in future with hard work, dedication, concentration and application.
Apparently, Kelechi made Leicester 5million pounds by missing that goal. In Mahrez’s deal, Man City are to pay Leicester 5miilion if the win the premiership in his first season. So Leicester should be thanking him….lol
https://m.sportskeeda.com/football/premier-league-how-leicester-city-could-benefit-from-a-loss-to-manchester-city
This is very interesting……5 million reasons for Kele to miss a chance he normally buries with his eyes closed. I wonder how much Kele’s share of this money is? 🙂
But @onwajunior, each EPL team gets a cash out depending on their standing in the final log at the end of the season.
If Kele had buried that chance, perhaps it would have made Leicester leapfrong the team ahead of them and thus earn his team a higher payout than their current standing.
That difference could probably be in the same region of 5 million pounds. And that one is ‘clean’ income. Lol.