West Brom boss explains why 'extraordinary' Leicester City form suffered in promotion race
Leicester City have been suffering the consequences of heightened expectations they built at the start of the campaign, West Brom boss Carlos Corberan believes.
City rode their luck to beat the Baggies on Saturday and take a big step towards promotion. It was a much-needed result for Enzo Maresca’s side, who had lost their previous two games amid a run of six defeats in 10.
Corberan felt City were unlucky in those losses, to Millwall and Plymouth, and believes their recent form is easily explained. He says they succumbed to the pressure they had put themselves under by raising expectations to very high levels with their exceptional start.
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In the first half of the season, City took 58 points from a possible 69, putting them well on track to smash English football’s record total for a single season, Reading earning 106 points in 2006. Now, City have to win all of their final three matches just to hit three figures.
Saturday’s victory put them back on top of the table, four points clear of third-placed Leeds, meaning they need two wins from their final three fixtures to be certain of promotion. However, the three points over West Brom were a tad fortunate, with the visitors guilty of missing plenty of good chances, and City reliant on Hamza Choudhury’s goal-line heroics.
Assessing the game and City’s season, Corberan said: “I think from the beginning until the end we created big opportunities. It's true we didn't manage well some actions, like the (first) goal they scored and the penalty.
“But I can probably tell you that, playing against Leicester, they were the only two situations we didn't manage well. When you play a game you want to create more things than the opponent, more clear things, and we have achieved this against, in my opinion, the best team in this competition.
“I know the level of pressure there can be now for Leicester, but when they have lost games they did not lose their identity. They have an extraordinary level of players and coach, they probably created a lot of expectation at the beginning and now are suffering the consequences of the expectation that they were able to create.
“But in terms of West Brom and Leicester today, it was not a fair result in my opinion. But in the end the result is they were more clinical and accurate at the end and we were less.”
All eyes are now on Leeds’ trip to Middlesbrough on Monday night. If Daniel Farke’s side lose, then City will be playing for promotion against Southampton on Tuesday night.