The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsLeicester were knocked out of the League Cup by Hull City in a penalty shoot-out with Riyad Mahrez being the only player to miss his spot-kick.
It was a competition that could have been a great opportunity for the Foxes to battle for some silverware, especially with Arsenal and Chelsea also being knocked out on the night.
Claudio Ranieri made a number of changes once again for this match; recalling Joe Dodoo and bringing in young left-back Ben Chilwell. The latter grew into the game superbly and was one of the stand out players in a lacklustre performance.
The first half had a lack of creativity and hunger as no side really threatened the opposition goal. Hull’s Greg Luer had the best opportunity of the half but his shot was blocked on the line.
It wasn’t the most exhilarating second period either but the Tigers had the better of the chances until the momentum shifted towards Leicester. Ranieri brought on Jamie Vardy, Danny Drinkwater and Riyad Mahrez in an attempt to win the game.
Extra-time had more pace in it and Leicester were first to open the scoring; Mahrez pounced on Vardy’s saved effort to slot the ball into an empty net.
Hull weren’t behind for long however and they equalised through Abel Hernandez, who reacted quickest after Mark Schwarzer could only block a shot.
Penalties loomed and it was Mahrez’s stuttered effort which cost the Foxes as the Algerian’s attemptwas saved by Eldin Jakupovic. David Meyler struck the winning penalty to send Hull into the quarter-final of the competition for the first time in their history.
The centre-back partnership of Marcin Wasilewski and Yohan Benalouane looked strong and alongside Chilwell they were the only real positives for Leicester to take from this match.
One thing that seems a weakness is the goalkeeping backup. Schwarzer took over from Kasper Schmeichel for the game but the veteran seemed to diminish as the match went on. The issue is that should Schmeichel pick up another injury, Leicester can’t rely on a 43-year-old in the Premier League, emphasising the need for a new goalkeeper.
Although this is a disappointing result against lower league opposition, Leicester must focus on the Premier League and keep their excellent run going against West Brom on Saturday.
