Claudio Ranieri has ‘no regrets’ after Leicester City's Porto shambles – and he’s completely right
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Updated 08/12/2016 at 08:47 GMT
Leicester City’s second string fell to a humiliating 5-0 defeat at Porto in the Champions League – but with qualification to the last 16 already assured, does it really matter?
Porto 5-0 Leicester
Image credit: AFP
WHAT HAPPENED
The European honeymoon is over. Leicester City, vanquishers of the Premier League, were hauled from their unlikely pedestal and sent tumbling down as Porto thumped them 5-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
[MATCH REPORT: Porto hammer sorry Leicester to join Foxes in next round]
The Foxes fielded a heavily-changed team for the trip to Portugal – and were punished as they slumped to the worst ever defeat by an English team in Europe’s premier club competition.
It may have been a dead rubber for Claudio Ranieri’s men, with passage to the last 16 as Group G winners already assured, but the manner of the defeat hinted that their domestic woes may be about to extend to European competition.
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Leicester players look dejected
Image credit: AFP
'I HAVE NO REGRETS'
"I decided to change the team - the result is my fault," said Ranieri. "My players lost a very great chance to show me their best.
"I have no regrets because I wanted to give an opportunity to all my players. If I needed to win or draw, I would bring all my first team to fight.
But when you know there is another difficult match Saturday against Manchester City and you are top of the group, why not give a chance to players who say 'why don't I play? We are losing in the Premier League, give me a chance'. For this reason, I give a chance to them. That's it. Then, the result is my fault but they missed a great chance.
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Nuno: Porto should be proud to beat Leicester
THE DAMAGING STATS
- Leicester City’s 0-5 defeat is the biggest margin of defeat by an English side in Champions League/European Cup history
- This was the heaviest defeat by an English side in Europe since Everton’s 0-5 defeat at Benfica in the 2009/10 Europa League
- Ben Hamer is the first English goalkeeper to concede five goals on his Champions League debut. Gary Walsh and Nigel Martyn both conceded four on their CL debuts
- Leicester City's starting lineup had 47 CL matches worth of experience combined (before today). Iker Casillas had 161 by himself before this match
- Leicester had conceded one goal coming into the match – and increased that by 500% in one game
Stats courtesy of Opta/Infostrada
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Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri
Image credit: Reuters
WHO COULD LEICESTER FACE IN LAST 16?
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Benfica
- Bayern Munich
- Bayer Leverkusen
- Real Madrid
- Sevilla
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Leicester City's Danny Drinkwater looks dejected
Image credit: Reuters
IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?
No.
Leicester fielded a second string – probably the weakest XI ever assembled by an English team is Europe’s top competition. Their weaknesses were obvious. Ben Chilwell was on loan at Huddersfield this time last year. Luis Hernandez was signed on a free transfer in the summer. Marcin Wasilewski’s contribution to the Foxes’ title bid last season was to almost derail it, giving away a needless foul at the Emirates that resulted in Danny Welbeck claiming a last-gasp winner for Arsenal. This was never going to be an easy night.
They barely have the squad depth to cope with rotation for the League Cup, so what did they expect against a Porto side gunning for the last 16 on home soil? It’s really not that bad. Leicester had already booked their spot in the next round, with three crucial Premier League games awaiting in a busy eight-day spell back home – home to Manchester City, then visits to Bournemouth and Stoke City. With just two points separating them from the drop zone, they were completely right to leave star performers Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez behind.
And why is Ranieri under pressure? It’s like their Premier League title is already being taken for granted. They’ve qualified for the Champions League last 16. Repeat: Leicester City, bottom of the Premier League at this stage two years ago, are into the knockout stages of the Champions League. Real Madrid or Bayern Munich could soon be heading to the King Power Stadium. Let’s just chill out a bit…
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