Leicester City faced another humbling in the Premier League, as Fulham were the latest side to inflict pain on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side.
Leicester came into the match on the back of six straight defeats in the league and goals from Emile Smith-Rowe and Adama Traore extended that awful run to seven.
It was another performance that lacked invention in attack and was riddled with mistakes in defence as the Foxes were brutally punished by the visitors.
Some fans asked for Ruud van Nistelrooy to be sacked after the game, and this was perhaps the first time his future was put in serious question.
Previously, the Dutchman had been given the benefit of the doubt but supporters weren’t happy when Van Nistelrooy substituted Bilal El Khannouss with the score at 1-0.
Now, the 48-year-old has spoken for the first time since the terrible loss, giving his verdict on the match.
- READ MORE: Leicester player ratings from Fulham defeat, midfield a shambles as several stars given 4/10
Ruud van Nistelrooy accepts Leicester City ‘deserved to lose’ against Fulham
Leicester were outclassed by solid Premier League opposition in the shape of Fulham and unsurprisingly, Van Nistelrooy accepted that his side ‘deserved to lose’.
Speaking to BBC Sport post-match, the manager analysed the game in full, outlining his disappointment at the display.
“We deserved to be beat, Fulham were the better team. It was disappointing in all aspects of the game. We weren’t good enough in all aspects,” Van Nistelrooy said.
“This is the first game I’ve felt like this. In the other games I felt there was enough aspects to get a result and today there wasn’t.
He also explained how he plans on moving forward and changing the tide, reflecting on what was an awful day at the office.
“We have time to reflect,” he added. “There is no need to be positive today. We need to think about the performance and the behaviours and how to bring this forward. These are the biggest questions we need to ask as a group of coaches, me as the manager and as a group of players. We have time to move forward after those reflections.”
“It is up to us as players and me as a manager to bring this forward. It is clear we need to bring hope back for the fans and that starts with us. It is our responsibility to work on and do better and move on from there.”
Van Nistelrooy has to take responsibility for Leicester City’s defeat vs Fulham
Some fans are beginning to turn on Van Nistelrooy and their anger is justified as the Dutchman made multiple questionable decisions.
The first of those was leaving Facundo Buonanotte out of the starting lineup after he was one of the few bright sparks in the loss to Crystal Palace.
Meanwhile, a chorus of boos and chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ rang around the King Power Stadium when he substituted El Khannouss for Kasey McAteer.
| Leicester City vs Fulham match stats | Leicester | Fulham |
| Expected goals | 0.47 | 2.08 |
| Shots | 8 | 17 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 2 |
| Passes | 360 | 583 |
| Tackles | 10 | 21 |
The above table proves that Leicester just didn’t create enough opportunities or test Bernd Leno with many, if any, meaningful attempts on goal.
So, whilst the players are mostly to blame, Van Nistelrooy can shoulder the responsibility too for being tactically inept.