Leicester tumbled down into the Europa Conference League after a 3-2 defeat to Napoli saw them fall from first to third in Group C of the Europa League.
Timothy Castagne spurned a great chance to put Leicester ahead after just two minutes, after which Adam Ounas went right down the other end and fired home an opener with a tidy finish past Kasper Schmeichel.
Elsewhere, Spartak Moscow went 1-0 up against Legia Warsaw, which saw Leicester fall down third in the group, facing a drop down to the Conference League. A response was needed.Unfortunately, it took a while to come and Napoli went 2-0 up almost immediately after. Andrea Petagna unselfishly squared the ball to Eljif Elmas, who tapped the ball into an empty net to give Leicester a real mountain to climb.Jonny Evans pulled one back shortly before the half-time break, and just a few minutes later, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall thundered home a glorious equaliser to send Leicester second in the group before the break.The frenetic pace continued after the interval, but unfortunately for Leicester, it was Elmas who bagged the game’s next goal. He found himself alone in the box, and after some smart footwork to get his body set, he fired past Schmeichel.James Maddison struck the post just a few minutes later after being gifted a glorious chance from an outrageously awful pass from Giovanni Di Lorenzo, which was the closest Leicester came to an equaliser.Brendan Rodgers’ side pushed and pushed for another equaliser but didn’t ask too much of Alex Meret in the Napoli goal, although Dewsbury-Hall may have done better had he not slipped at a vital moment.Elsewhere, Legia were awarded a penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time which could have saved Leicester, but a poor effort was saved and Spartak walked away with the win that ended the Foxes’ hopes of qualification.
Leicester player ratings vs Napoli
Kasper Schmeichel (GK) – 4/10 – Made some decent saves but a few too many mistakes and poor decisions didn’t help Leicester’s cause.
Timothy Castagne (RB) – 4/10 – Should’ve scored within minutes and looked shaky after that. Not tight enough for Elmas’ second.
Jonny Evans (CB) – 6/10 – Another big goal from Evans. Seemed to drag his side back into the game.
Caglar Soyuncu (CB) – 3/10 – A really poor pass for the opener which threw Tielemans under the bus. Set the tone for a really shaky performance.
Ryan Bertrand (LB) – 1/10 – Inexplicably offside for Napoli’s second and even had the balls to appeal for offside afterwards. Comically awful for the majority of the game.
2. Midfielders
Wilfred Ndidi (DM) – 4/10 – Didn’t do a great job of shielding his defence. Looked a bit overwhelmed at times. Knocked Hirving Lozano’s teeth out with his knee.
James Maddison (RM) – 5/10 – Hit the post looking for an equaliser and looked a bit lost out on the right. Saw about 15 minutes in a central role late on.
Youri Tielemans (CM) – 4/10 – Looked like a man who had five games out with a calf injury. Unfortunate with his control for the opener but guilty of some really poor touches later on.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (CM) – 7/10 – A glorious way to score his first Leicester goal. Played with real energy and impressed with his vision.
Harvey Barnes (LM) – 3/10 – A lot of energy without any real end product. Frustrating to watch and didn’t make up for it at the defensive end either.
3. Forward
Jamie Vardy (ST) – 4/10 – A little isolated on his first Europa League start of the campaign. Skied a header in injury time.
