'I don't even know what it is' - Brendan Rodgers confused as Leicester drop into Europa Conference League
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Published 10/12/2021 at 08:57 GMT
Leicester were consigned to the competition after a 3-2 defeat to Napoli saw them finish third in their Europa League group. The Italians progressed from Group C alongside Spartak Moscow, while Rodgers' side will now face a play-off against one of the runners-up from the Europa Conference League groups.
Leicester's British coach Brendan Rodgers reacts during the UEFA Europa League Group C football match between Napoli and Leicester on December 9, 2021 at the Diego-Maradona stadium in Naples
Image credit: Getty Images
Brendan Rodgers has admitted that he "doesn't know" what the Europa Conference League is after Leicester dropped into the competition.
A 3-2 defeat to Napoli condemned Rodgers' side to a third-place finish in Europa League Group C behind their hosts and Spartak Moscow.
That means that Leicester will now appear in the play-offs of the tertiary continental competition, which was introduced by UEFA this season.
Rodgers revealed that he had not yet taken notice of the third tier event.
"I've got to be honest I don't even know what the competition is," Rodgers told BT Sport.
"I was focused on the Europa League and winning this group and at the very least finishing second. But I am sure I will find out soon enough."
After falling 2-0 behind after a strong start from the Italians, Leicester fought back to level with quickfire goals from Jonny Evans and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall either side of the half-hour mark.
A draw would have been sufficient to enable Leicester to progress at the expense of Napoli, but Eljif Elmas' second secured an injury-hit side victory.
Leicester's last hope was that Legia Warsaw would secure a draw or more against Spartak, and the Polish side had ideal opportunity to level from 12 yards after being awarded a stoppage-time penalty.
But Tomas Pekhart's penalty was saved by Aleksandr Selikhov, enabling the Russians to progress as group winners.
Rodgers said that his side had only themselves to blame after a mixed European group stage campaign.
"There is a lot of naivety in our team, with a lot of young players and it has been a big demand for them this season," he added.
"We have played a number of systems but individually it comes down to having that mentality to track a runner or stop a cross. We were good offensively but it was nowhere near good enough."
The draw for the Europa Conference League play-offs will be made on Monday 13 December, with Leicester to face one of the second-placed finishers from the group stages of the third-tier competition.
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