Leicester City star James Maddison responds to 'sake of it' jibe

Leicester City midfielder James Maddison has issued a response to criticism from a fan on social media.

City endured a disappointing midweek Europa Conference League defeat against Roma on Thursday night to all but end their hopes of playing European football again next season. Tammy Abraham’s 11th-minute header at the Stadio Olimpico was enough to separate the two sidea as City were unable to break down Jose Mourinho’s resilient team.

The result means that Roma take on Feyenoord in the final in Albania, while focus returns to the Premier League for Leicester. While it is still mathematically possible to finish in the top seven, that is highly unlikely as City prepare to face Everton on Sunday afternoon.

Following the loss against Roma, Maddison was one of several players to take to social media to share their disappointment and thank fans for their support.

“Devastated to lose out in Rome,” he wrote. “We left it all out there but it just wasn’t to be. Thank you all so much for your support, honestly incredible travelling fans! We’re gutted we couldn’t send you all to the final.”

However, the message prompted criticism from someone on Twitter who wrote: I’m “Afraid you didn’t leave it all out there James. You use that phrase when all 11 have ran through brick walls for 90 mins and are dead on their feet by the end. Not tapping it around for the sake of it and having 2 shots on goal all game.”

Maddison has since replied to the message, saying that the workrate of the team is ‘unquestionable.’

“With all due respect you don’t know what your talking about,” he wrote on Twitter. “The effort and the attitude of these lads I see on a daily basis is unquestionable.

“Sometimes you might not be good enough to win but it