Leicester look to Europa Conference League for salvation in season of self-destruction

Premier League side take on minnows Randers knowing inaugural competition offers last hope for European football next season

Leicester City's Youri Tielemans, left, during training on Wednesday February 16, 2022, on the eve of their Europa Conference League match against Randers. PA

Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. PA

Leicester City players during training ahead of the game against Randers. PA

Leicester's Youri Tielemans and Ademola Lookman foool around during training. PA

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, right, with first-team coach Adam Sadler. PA

Leicester's Ademola Lookman during training. PA

Leicester City players during training ahead of the game against Randers. Reuters

Leicester City's James Maddison, left, with Ayoze Perez. Reuters

Leicester's Youri Tielemans and Ademola Lookman foool around during training. PA

Leicester City's James Maddison, left. Reuters

Leicester City's Youri Tielemans and Kelechi Iheanacho during training. Reuters

Leicester's James Maddison and Ayoze Perez. PA

Leicester City's Marc Albrighton, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho during training. PA

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers. PA

Leicester City's Marc Albrighton. PA

If Brendan Rodgers leaves Leicester City, he probably will not be offered a post as an ambassador for Europe’s newest tournament. “I’ve got to be honest, I don’t even know what the competition is,” he said after Leicester dropped into the Europa Conference League.

He has had two months to find out. As Leicester have exited the League Cup and the FA Cup in the intervening period, while only winning two of seven Premier League matches, it assumes a greater importance. Leicester’s chances of rescuing a season gone wrong could depend on the Europa Conference League. Their only plausible route back into the Europa League flows through such footballing backwaters.

It can nevertheless claim to be the most representative competition of the continent as a whole. Red Bull Salzburg are the most easterly side left in the Champions League. The Conference League contains the Azeris of Qarabag, plus Maccabi Tel Aviv, Fenerbahce, PAOK Salonika, Partizan Belgrade and Sparta and Slavia Prague. The Champions League has no Scandinavian representatives. The Conference League has three from Denmark alone.

On Thursday Leicester host the lowliest, fifth-placed Randers, who will be playing their first game in any European knockout stages. Rodgers’ side are overwhelming favourites: indeed, only Roma are more favoured to lift the trophy.

Yet awarding them that status seems to ignore the reality they were among the favourites to win the Europa League before only coming third in their pool and can appear at odds with Leicester’s self-destructive streak.

They are a team with an unfortunate tendency to concede late goals and from set-pieces, two damaging trends which coincided against West Ham on Sunday.

Goals in the last 10 minutes have cost them six points in their last three home games; those in stoppage time have denied them five. They have been breached 14 times from dead-ball situations in the Premier League; they have conceded from corners in their last three games, including the FA Cup humiliation at Nottingham Forest. ”

Leicester 2 West Ham 2: player ratings

This season has been difficult,” accepted Caglar Soyuncu, one of the defenders to have a troubled time. Rodgers has admitted Leicester have “struggled all season” at centre-back: the loss of Wesley Fofana to injury in pre-season has proved crucial, while Jonny Evans has often been absent and rarely fully fit.

A meeting with a club from his homeland shines a particular light on Jannik Vestergaard. The centre-back played in Denmark’s Euro 2020 semi-final against England in a month that enhanced his reputation.

It has fallen at Leicester since his switch from Southampton. He has slipped to sixth-choice centre-back, behind the midfielders Daniel Amartey and Wilfred Ndidi. A 6ft 6in figure was brought on in the 89th minute on Sunday to help Leicester defend corners. He had one job to do and failed, heading thin air when Craig Dawson levelled for West Ham.

While Rodgers has hinted at a clear out, saying some of his players have been at Leicester for too long, a problem is that two of his summer signings, Vestergaard and Ryan Bertrand, have floundered so far.

Another is that, rather than being a one-off, this season threatens to lead to decline. The sort of players he would want to form the basis of a new team may be eyeing the exit: certainly Youri Tielemans’ talents could belong in the Champions League.

For a couple of years, it was easy to imagine those ambitions would be realised with Leicester. They spent 567 days in the top four over the last two seasons, before finishing fifth each time. Then they were so near and yet so far. Now they simply feel so far away, embarking on a voyage of discovery that they wish had never been necessary.