Brendan Rodgers questions 'all the criticism' and narrative of Leicester City season

Brendan Rodgers believes the narrative of Leicester City’s season should not be a negative one if they finish eighth.

The City boss suggested the criticism of his team would not be a fair reflection of their campaign if they overtake Wolves on the final day. After a draw against Chelsea, City will move above the West Midlands side if they beat Southampton and Bruno Lage’s men fail to beat Liverpool.

After failing to live up to the heights of the previous two seasons, when they challenged for the Champions League places, City’s season has largely been labelled an underwhelming one. But that is a harsh verdict, according to Rodgers.

He said in his post-match press conference following the 1-1 draw with Chelsea: “It’s been lop-sided for us this season. We were three or four games behind teams this year, and we had the challenges with the injuries and European football. If you look at it, we have an opportunity to finish eighth.

“If you contextualise the season, if we get to eighth and a European semi-final, through all the criticism the players have had this season and we’ve taken as a team, apart from the top six and West Ham being above us, who have supposedly have had a fantastic season, then it shows you how well these players have done. Next year, we’ll reset, come back in the summer, be stronger, and hopefully we will be up there disrupting the top teams again.”

City extended their unbeaten run to three games on Thursday night as their defence held firm to keep out third-placed Chelsea. James Maddison’s early strike put them ahead before Marcos Alonso volleyed in an equaliser, and then City professionally held on to their point.

Rodgers said: “We had to battle really hard. They’re a top-class side. We got off to a