Steve cooper defends decision to sub Stephy Mavididi after boos from Leicester City fans
Steve Cooper has explained why he opted to substitute Stephy Mavididi in Leicester City’s 1-1 draw against Everton.
The Foxes had to come from a goal down again, with Mavididi grabbing the equaliser in the second half following Iliman Ndiaye’s opener in the first 45.
Mavididi grew into the game as Leicester began to search for the winner, tormenting full-back James Garner before Cooper withdrew the number 10, bringing on Abdul Fatawu in his place with less than five minutes to go.
Cooper’s decision was met with a chorus of boos inside the King Power Stadium as Leicester’s wait for a first win in the Premier League goes on.
Steve Cooper explains decision to substitute Stephy Mavididi
Fan frustration seemed to grow even more after the game, with many supporters wondering why Cooper didn’t choose to substitute
Premier League
who looked tired with less than 10 minutes to go.
But when asked about his decision post-match, Cooper claimed that Mavididi had “ran his race”.
He said: “I can understand the fans’ frustration. I get that and accept it. He was excellent second half and we felt like our likely chances were going to come from that side.
“But he’d run his race physically, absolutely run his race. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s normal for an attacking player to run out of steam. We just thought we would put fresh legs on and let Abdul (Fatawu) one or two moments. He got involved in winning a corner.
“We’re really happy with Stephy and he didn’t come off because of his performance, let’s be clear. He came off because he had to run a lot in the first half, not in the way we wanted him to, and that accumulated into the second half. He ran out of steam. That’s all it was.”
Steve Cooper’s poor run of Premier League football continues
It’s not just the Foxes who are struggling for form on their return to the Premier League.
While Leicester have picked up three points from their opening five games, they are still yet to win.
As for Cooper, the draw at a wet and rainy East Midlands means he now has just one win from his last 18 games in charge in the Premier League, dating back to his time at Nottingham Forest.
He could earn just his second win in charge of Leicester on Tuesday night when the Foxes play Walsall in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Leicester City’s performance has been described as ‘scrappy’ following their draw against Everton.
Leicester City were held to a plucky draw at home to Everton in what was a real six-pointer at the foot of the Premier League table.
The Foxes managed to grab a point after a poor first half which saw Steve Cooper’s side down at the break following a goal from Iliman Ndiaye, who looked to consistently get the better of full-back James Justin.
However, a decent finish from Stephy Mavididi got Cooper’s side back on level terms, and whilst Leicester City tried their luck towards the end of the game, they had to accept another draw at home.
