Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers hails ‘amazing’ Wesley Fofana after comeback goal

Brendan Rodgers said the manner of Wesley Fofana’s goal against Rennes showed what Leicester City have been missing for much of the season.

The Frenchman marked his return to action with the Foxes’ goal as they lost 2-1 on the night, but triumphed 3-2 on aggregate against Rennes in the Europa Conference League. Fofana hadn’t played since badly breaking his leg in pre-season, but slotted into the side seamlessly, producing an excellent all-round performance, as well as what turned out to be a crucial goal.

“He’s an amazing player, that’s what top players do,” Rodgers told BT Sport after the second leg in France. “He’s only been back training a few weeks but they [top players] want to go and head it and show that determination. That’s what we’ve missed for a lot of the season.

“That’s a top player’s mentality, he’s such a top prospect. Now he’s just got to try and build his fitness up. He was exceptional on the night.”

Overall, Rodgers wasn’t happy with the performance but praised his side’s character against a strong Rennes side.

“I think with the ball we were really, really poor,” he said. “Our football in the game, especially in the first half, was nowhere near what I would expect. What we did show tonight was real character, especially with players missing and lots of young players tasting this level for the first time. It’s character building for them.

“We had to show resilience. You can see they’re a good side, Rennes, so to get through is a fantastic feeling. We knew they were going to make a fast start and come after us. They got the early goal as well, but we showed a good mentality, a good concentration level.”