Puel pleased as Leicester respond well to tough situation

Posted Sunday, November 25, 2018 by PA

Claude Puel declared himself proud of his Leicester side after they came from behind to draw at Brighton with 10 men.

The Foxes appeared to have it all to do after Glenn Murray opened the scoring for the hosts and James Maddison was sent off after picking up two yellow cards in as many minutes.

But Leicester rallied and were the better team after the interval as Jamie Vardy came off the bench to earn a 1-1 draw with a late penalty.

Brighton failed to create any clear chances to take advantage of Maddison’s 28th-minute dismissal, with Puel pleased by the effort the visitors put in to wrestle back a share of the spoils.

Asked if we was proud of his players, he replied: “Yes, of course.

“I am proud about our collective reaction, our game in the second half. We played like 11 men. It was us with 11 men in the second half and was a fantastic feeling to come back in the game after difficulties in the first half.

“We came back with desire but also with quality and a strong performance in our mentality and quality with the ball.

“We deserved the win at the end because we dominated a lot of the second half, played football and had chances.”

Maddison was booked for a petulant kick on Anthony Knockaert before picking up a second caution moments later for diving in an attempt to win a penalty. It means Leicester have picked up four red cards from 13 Premier League games this season.

While Puel refused to single out the 22-year-old for criticism, the Frenchman conceded his players must react better once they have been booked.

He continued: “It was difficult to accept two yellow cards in three minutes.

“Of course the sending off put the team in difficulties but I have to review the replay about the yellow cards.

“I think we have to manage our yellow cards…I think sometimes we deserve yellow cards and sometimes we don’t. After the first yellow card we have to manage our game better to prevent a sending off and continue with 11 men.

“But it is not just about the sending off, it is about our desire at the beginning of the game…to play football.”

Brighton, who lost at Cardiff before the international break having played with 10 men for an hour themselves, could not wrap up a first win in three games despite the numerical advantage.

Seagulls boss Chris Hughton admitted he was disheartened by his team’s inability to seal three points which would have drawn his side level with Leicester in the table.

He said: “I’m hugely disappointed. We were in a similar position last week, and you know when you play against a team of 10 men they are going to play a certain way.

“You have either not got to concede, or you have to take advantage of it. I thought we were better in the final third, particularly in the wide areas, than we have been all season, which is normal because they were down to 10 men. And what you’ve got to do then is capitalise.

“But apart from the goal, we’ve gone through a 90 minutes period without having that clear-cut chance. And unless you do that, there is always a chance the opposition will get back in.”