Leicester manager Enzo Maresca says it will be impossible to keep all of his top players happy this season as he aims to take the club back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
The Italian coach made six changes against Stoke, in what was his side’s third game in six days.
The move paid off as Leicester recorded their sixth successive Championship win that kept them top of the table.
Kelechi Iheanacho opened the scoring after 24 minutes before Jamie Vardy came off the bench to wrap up a 2-0 win.
Vardy had started on Wednesday against Preston, with Iheanacho coming off the bench to score.
“That’s why we try to switch them around,” said Maresca. “The other night against Preston, Kele was probably not happy to be on the bench.
“But he came on and was fantastic.
“Here, Jamie was not happy to be on the bench. But he came on and scored, and was happy.
“To be competitive, you need two players for each position so they can compete between them. In the end, we can choose one of them.
“Here we left out Wout Faes, Stephy Mavididi, Wilfred Ndidi, James Justin and Jamie.
“But they cannot think to play 46 games. It’s impossible.
“At the moment, no human being can play every game at the same level.
“Maybe next time, I’ll make six changes, we’ll lose and I’ll be wrong. But we have to make those decisions.”
Maresca accepted that Stoke had been tough to break down, as have a number of visitors to the King Power Stadium.
“We need to improve a lot because we are going to face these kinds of games many times. But we are going in the right direction,” he added.
Stoke manager Alex Neil had nine players missing through injury.
He said he wanted to take the game to Leicester in the second half, but the home side’s strength in depth was difficult to combat.
“If we’d got to half-time at 0-0, our intention was always to try and have a go,” he said.
“You can see why, when you do that, you don’t come here and go toe to toe with Leicester. Particularly when you haven’t got your strongest squad.
“But we had arguably two of the best chances in the game which fell to Nathan Lowe. He’s disappointed, but I said to him afterwards that I’d be more disappointed if they weren’t falling to him.
“If we had a stronger team, we’d get a better feel of where we are compared to them. We had a young side out.
“The minute we changed, they brought on pace at the top end of the pitch.
“Jamie Vardy’s going to cause you all kinds of problems at this level.
“But our set up was good, I don’t think they really had a chance until their goal. That was disappointing from our perspective as Iheanacho was really wide.”
Neil admitted Leicester’s dominance at this level shows no sign of weakening.
“They’ll be one of the best Championship teams in a long time,” he said.
“Just look at the stadium and the fans, and the players they’ve got. They have four internationals who’ve played for England – I don’t remember that happening anywhere else.”
Another one: ‘Bunny’ Shaw cops 2023/24 Barclays WSL Player of the Season honour
The accolades of Jamaica and Manchester City striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw continue to mount, as she was voted the 2023/24 Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) Player of the Season, on Friday.
This announcement came on the heels of Thursday’s Football Writers’ Association (FWA) awards gala, where Shaw was officially presented with the FWA Women Footballer of the Year trophy, alongside fellow Manchester City star Phil Foden.
To say these individual acclaims are very much deserving would be an understatement given her exploits this season, as she has been a key figure in City’s push for the WSL title.
The 27-year-old, whose season was cut short due to a broken leg, has registered 21 goals in just 18 appearances, while also providing three assists. She’s on course for another prestigious honour of finishing as the league’s top scorer, having incredibly averaged a goal every 66 minutes this season.
And it is just rewards for another phenomenal campaign in which she once again broke new ground in Gareth Taylor’s side.
Shaw is the first player to score three WSL hat-tricks in a calendar year, last year, and between November 2023 and January 2024, the forward again registered three trebles in just four matches.
Finding the net in both WSL Manchester derbies, the Jamaican’s clinical finish at the Etihad Stadium in March also saw her become City’s record goalscorer, as she swept past Georgia Stanway in the process.
Another crucial strike from Shaw came in City’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in February, as they secured the honour of being the first away side to take three points off the reigning champions at Kingsmeadow, in over three years.
In securing the Player of the Season title, the prolific Jamaican fought off the sizeable challenge of City teammate Khiara Keating, who won the Golden Glove, as well as Chelsea duo Lauren James and Niamh Charles. Arsenal’s Lotte Wubben-Moy, Tottenham Hotspurs youngster Grace Clinton, Leicester’s Jutta Rantala, and Brighton’s forward Elisabeth Terland, were also in the mix.
Euro 2024 omission has hurt Hummels, says Dortmund boss Terzic
Mats Hummels was hurt by Julian Nagelsmann's decision to leave him out of his preliminary Germany squad for Euro 2024, Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic has revealed.
The 35-year-old centre-back has joined BVB teammates Julian Brandt, Emre Can and Karim Adeyemi in being omitted from Germany's party for their home tournament.
Terzic believes Hummels – who helped his country win the 2014 World Cup – will now put all his energy into Dortmund's Champions League final clash with Real Madrid on June 1.
"I felt that the decision affected Mats and after the discussion [with Nagelsmann], he was very disappointed," Terzic said ahead of Dortmund's clash with Darmstadt 98 on Saturday.
"He assured me we will now go for the one goal left, the Champions League.
"He absolutely deserved to be at the Euros. But it is not our decision."
Nico Schlotterbeck and Niclas Fullkrug were the only Dortmund players to make Nagelsmann's squad, with the tournament set to begin on June 14.
"We tried in the past months to help the players reach their personal goals as well as the team goals," Terzic added.
"It worked for Nico and Niclas but unfortunately not for Mats.
"He will deal with this situation very professionally and tomorrow and in the Champions League final he will be one of our most important players."
Kane to miss Bundesliga finale after seeking treatment on back injury
Harry Kane will miss Bayern Munich's final game of the Bundesliga season after leaving Germany to undergo treatment on a back problem.
Kane has scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign in Bavaria, though he will finish yet another season without silverware, with Bayer Leverkusen having clinched their first top-flight title.
He will end 2023-24 five goals adrift of Robert Lewandowski's single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20, after sustaining a back injury.
Ahead of Saturday's trip to Hoffenheim, departing Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel revealed Kane had been struggling before the second leg of their Champions League semi-final loss to Real Madrid.
"Harry is being treated by his personal doctor and he is not here anymore," Tuchel said.
"He won't be with us. In Madrid it was already touch and go."
Kane missed Bayern's 2-0 win over Wolfsburg in their penultimate game of 2023-24 last week, with Lovro Zvonarek and Leon Goretzka on target in his absence.
The news will cause concern for Gareth Southgate, who is set to name his preliminary England squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday.
The Three Lions' final squad for the tournament – which is being held in Kane's new home of Germany – will be revealed after they face Iceland in a friendly on June 7.
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