The Foxes are flying high in the Premier League but their European ambitions are over for another season following their last-32 defeat
Brendan Rodgers admitted Leicester deserved to lose on Thursday as the high-flying Foxes suffered a shock exit from the Europa League at the hands of Slavia Prague.
Leicester, currently third in the Premier League, lost 2-0 in the last-32 second leg at the King Power Stadium, with Lukas Provod and Abdallah Dipo Sima getting the goals.
It carried on an unwanted streak for Rodgers, who has now lost all five of his Europa League knockout ties – two each at Liverpool and Celtic before this latest defeat.
What has been said?
Rodgers told BT Sport: “We lost to the better team. I take responsibility for the team I’ve picked. I picked a team I felt could win the game.
“We didn’t create enough over two legs. We didn’t defend with any intensity. We gave away two disappointing goals. The better team won.
“We started pretty well. We didn’t have enough quality to break them down.
“I don’t want to give too many excuses. [We had] players not available tonight at the top end of the field. However, I still expected us to show up more. They’ll learn from it.
“We’re disappointed to be out but we know we weren’t good enough. Good luck to Slavia in the next round.”
The bigger picture
While there will undoubtedly be disappointment that Leicester won’t be in Friday’s draw for the last 16, Rodgers can now fully prioritise his side’s league campaign.
Ten points behind leaders Manchester City, they may not be looking too seriously at the title race but they hold a six-point advantage over Chelsea in fifth.
The race for the top four continues with a home fixture against Arsenal on Sunday, while Leicester also have an FA Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United on the horizon.
