Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy was nowhere near satisfied with his side’s performance after they fell to a disappointing 4-0 defeat against Brentford at the King Power Stadium on Friday night, Footynaija.com reports.
Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was entrusted with his usual starting berth by Van Nistelrooy but the Nigerian’s presence in the middle of the park proved to be inconsequential as the Bees ran rampant on Foxes territory.
Although Ndidi’s Leicester City started the game with their tails up, it was Brentford who struck first, with Yoane Wissa bouncing his shot into the ground and over goalkeeper Mads Hermansen after 17 minutes.
Nine minutes later, the Bees doubled their lead as in-form Bryan Mbeumo produced a superb finish before Christian Norgaard’s free header at the near post extended the visitors’ advantage to 3-0 with just over a quarter of the match played.
Brentford sealed their dominant performance in the 89th minute when substitute Fábio Carvalho slotted home after Hermansen had initially denied Mbeumo’s close-range effort.
After the game, Van Nistelrooy didn’t hide his disappointment: “We have to acknowledge that it’s a huge step back. There was hope after certain performances,” he began as quoted by Eurosport.
“The beginning of the game was hopeful with three chances, Jamie [Vardy] had two and [Woyo] Coulibaly had a shot from close range, where we have to go [one] up. That could have changed the game.
“Overall, the difference between the level of Brentford and us today was big. The first 10, 15 minutes, after that they showed they were big steps ahead of us at the moment.
“We were nowhere near their levels today. We have to acknowledge it. The level between Brentford and us was significant today – and a worry for future hopes.
“Also we know we gave the other teams above us and below us the chance to gain points and momentum. Then it can become difficult really quickly if we don’t keep picking up points.”
Leicester City remain in the bottom three after failing to pick up any points for the third game running. The Foxes must begin to win games on a consistent basis if they want to avoid losing their Premier League status.