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Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has described the 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace as a devastating hit to the morale within the squad, following their sixth consecutive defeat.
The Foxes squandered numerous opportunities before being punished shortly after half-time when Jean-Philippe Mateta coolly slotted home his sixth league goal of the season.
The situation worsened for Leicester when, with 12 minutes remaining, Eberechi Eze’s delicately chipped free-kick was powerfully converted by Marc Guehi, allowing Palace to prolong their unbeaten run in away league fixtures to five games.
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Van Nistelrooy was appointed Leicester manager in November after a successful spell in interim charge of Manchester United and reflecting on Wednesday’s defeat, he said that it marked the lowest point during his short tenure at the King Power Stadium.
“We kept spirits up after five losses and we will do it after today’s loss. There’s hope there, the spirit is there in the team, but today is a big blow,” Van Niselrooy said.
“It was I think the lowest that we’ve felt so far in my spell because today we had high hopes of proving ourselves with points and a performance.
“These games are decided in both final thirds. We are able to create but we have to start finishing them. We are doing a lot well but in the key moments, we are not there to pull the trigger. We are responsible to give the hope back to the fans, it is our responsibility.”
Frustration was palpable as jeers echoed through the King Power Stadium at the full-time whistle when Leicester missed the opportunity to escape the relegation zone, despite having 21 shots at goal.
The ex-United forward added: “I felt the support today was there. We felt the support, I felt the support.
“It’s up to us to turn this negative cycle around and to bring hope back into the fans’ hearts and minds and that’s what I’ll get up to do tomorrow again and it’s my mission to accomplish that.
“It’s clear the result is not good and it reflected in the second half and the level dropped too much.”