Ranieri stands by rotation policy after loss at Chelsea
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri said he had no regrets about resting three key men despite seeing his side easily beaten by Chelsea.
The former Chelsea boss dropped Riyad Mahrez, Islam Slimani and Danny Simpson to the bench, with Jeffrey Schlupp, Ahmed Musa and Luis Hernadez all starting.
And the Foxes struggled to match the home side with Diego Costa’s early goal setting the Blues on their way and further strikes by Eden Hazard and Victor Moses ensuring a routine victory.
Ranieri said he would “make the same decision” to rotate his squad again, with one eye on the Champions League match against FC Copenhagen.
He added: “The same because we have a tough match on Tuesday. The Premier League is one month long and the Champions League is two months. I prefer to preserve some players.”
Japan striker Shinji Okazaki did not feature after international duty and Ranieri said he wanted to test Chelsea for pace at the back.
“We started with 4-4-2 with Musa and Jamie Vardy because we wanted two fast players,” the Italian added.
“But when you concede a goal from a corner [for the first goal] again it is clear. You come to Chelsea and your attention must be at the maximum. We made mistakes.
“We tried to react and the second half was much better. Now we must react because we have the Champions League on Tuesday.”
