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Ryan: They're second for a reason

Goalkeeper Maty Ryan admitted Albion didn’t ask Leicester enough questions in a 2-0 defeat to the Foxes on Saturday, but stressed the Foxes proved why they are currently second in the table following a free-flowing attacking display at the Amex.

By James Hilsum • 24 November 2019

By Paul Hazlewood
Maty Ryan

Second-half goals from Ayoze Perez and a Jamie Vardy penalty gave the visitors all three points, and the Socceroos' shot-stopper admitted they were good value for the victory.

He said, “They’ve got quality, which is obviously why they’re in the position they are in. They’ve got a system which is working really well and they are implementing it on a consistent basis at the moment.

“They’ve got a great engine room there in the midfield and an established back four with dynamic full-backs.

“They’ve got plenty of pace up front and plenty of service there too. We did well to hold on in certain aspects, but they probably had the majority of the shots on target and asked more questions, so they come away as the victors.”

By Paul Hazlewood
Maty Ryan saves a shot.

Ryan spoke about the penalty which Vardy was forced to re-take following an encroachment by both sets of players in the box. The initial spot-kick had been saved and the rebound headed in by James Maddison, but the Leicester number nine netted with his second attempt.

“For the first penalty kick I just left it up to the moment, but it counts for nothing. We all saw the replay on the screen; it looked like [Ayoze] Perez encroached a little bit and Mike Dean said to me on the pitch that if [James] Maddison had headed it wide, then it would have been a goal kick.

“I saw on the other side of the pitch that one of their players and one of our players encroached also. So, I don’t know the rule behind it, but the game is sometimes a tough gig for us goalkeepers and these rules aren’t making it any easier. At the end of the day, they probably got the result they deserved by creating the better chances.”

03:29

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Ryan's Leicester reaction

Ryan looked ahead to Albion’s next match, away at Liverpool, and says the focus must be on bouncing back as quickly as possible.

“We were left saying the same thing after the United game, so with the nature of the competition, the games are all going to be equally as tough.

“We just have to dust ourselves off, learn, try and grow from this performance, and go to Anfield with an idea of what we want to do; hopefully, it can prove to be successful for us.”