Leicester City’s derby day defeat to Nottingham Forest has been labelled “self-inflicted” by manager Steve Cooper, who sees the loss as a significant step backward in the club’s recent progress.
Despite showing early promise, City faltered badly in the second half, succumbing to a 3-1 loss that exposed defensive frailties and handed Forest a morale-boosting win.
Chris Wood’s brace proved decisive, with all three of Forest’s goals stemming from Leicester’s own defensive lapses. After a bright first-half performance, Cooper’s side fell apart after the break, losing momentum and control.
“It is self-inflicted,” Cooper admitted in his post-match comments. “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.”
Leicester initially responded well after falling behind, scoring a fine equaliser and controlling the game for large periods of the first half. Cooper remained optimistic at the interval, believing the match was still there to be won.
“We recovered well in the first half, scored a really good goal, and had good control in the game,” he said.
“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 to get the result. But we’ve conceded really poorly at the start of the second half, which wasn’t great.
“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 decisive moment came when Forest’s third goal shifted the game beyond Leicester’s reach. Forced to chase the game, City struggled to impose themselves, leaving them vulnerable to Forest’s counter-attacking threat.
“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, and 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.”
The mood among Leicester’s fans turned sour as Forest supporters revelled in their rivals’ misery, chanting Cooper’s name throughout the second half. Aware of the sting such a loss brings, Cooper acknowledged the pain of losing a derby.
“Yeah, you don’t want to be losing any games, but you especially don’t want to be losing to local rivals,” he said.
“We have to not shy away from that.”
The disappointment was palpable, especially given Leicester’s improved form in recent matches. Cooper admitted the team would need to reflect on how a promising performance turned so quickly against them.
“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.”
Cooper insisted the setback wouldn’t define their progress but stressed the need for accountability.
“We do everything together. Everybody is disappointed, everybody around the club and supporters. It’s a game against a local rival and the last thing you want is it panning out how it did tonight.
“We’ve done a lot of good in the last couple of games and where we feel we’re going. This is a real setback. We have to accept it’s on us. We have to take responsibility.”
Leicester will now have to regroup quickly if they are to continue the progress they had shown before this defeat, with Cooper determined to ensure the team learns from their mistakes in time for the next challenge.