Leicester City’s derby day defeat to Nottingham Forest was a painful setback in what had appeared to be steady progress under manager Steve Cooper.
Despite a promising first-half performance, City collapsed after the break, with defensive errors leading to all three of Forest’s goals.
Chris Wood netted a second-half brace to put the game beyond Leicester’s reach, leaving Cooper frustrated by his side’s self-inflicted wounds.
“It is self-inflicted,” Cooper said in his post-match analysis.
“It’s completely on us the way the game panned out, particularly in the second half.
“We made big mistakes in the build-up to the three goals, and we were punished in those moments, which happens in this league. We have to take responsibility for that. We’re not in the game of focusing on individuals, but that has happened.”
The match began with promise for Leicester, who responded well after conceding early. Cooper praised his players for their initial recovery, highlighting the goal that got them back into the contest and the control they displayed in the first half.
“We recovered well in the first half, scored a really good goal, and had good control in the game,” Cooper reflected.
“We definitely needed to be more of a threat, and we showed the boys some images at half-time about where the opportunity was in the game, and there really was. We were really optimistic about the second half being a game for us, one we could attack even more, have a positive impact, and get the result.”
However, it was the start of the second half that proved to be Leicester’s undoing. An early lapse allowed Forest to regain the lead, and things went from bad to worse as Wood added another.
“We’ve conceded really poorly at the start of the second half, which wasn’t great,” Cooper admitted. “But at the same time, there was no need to come away from the plan. There was still a lot of time to hurt Forest.”
The game turned decisively with Forest’s third goal, leaving Leicester chasing the match and ultimately playing into their opponents’ hands.
“The third goal was a game-changer in how we wanted the game to look,” Cooper explained. “Then we have to come away from the plan, we probably try a little bit too hard. They make changes to put defenders on, and we have to make changes. Any rhythm we had was lost then.
“Forest are really strong on the counter-attack, and we ended up making the game look like that for them. That clearly wasn’t the plan. We have to take responsibility. It’s on us. The way the game went was because of where we failed and got punished for it.”
With Forest fans revelling in their side’s dominance, chanting Cooper’s name throughout the second half, the result only added to the sting of defeat.
“It hurts, especially against local rivals,” Cooper acknowledged. “Yeah, you don’t want to be losing any games, but you especially don’t want to be losing to local rivals. We have to not shy away from that.
“There’s real frustration in how the game went, and it didn’t need to be that way. That will be the biggest frustration—when you see the first half and the control we could have in the game and the impact we could have. To then do what we did in the second half will be really frustrating. We have to accept that.”
The loss has punctured Leicester’s recent momentum, but Cooper was quick to point out that setbacks are part of the journey.
“We’ve done a lot of good in the last couple of games and where we feel we’re going,” he said. “This is a real setback. We have to accept it’s on us. We have to take responsibility.”
Leicester’s task now is to regroup quickly and ensure this defeat does not derail their progress further, with a long season still ahead.