Zorya Luhansk 1-0 Leicester City: Sayyadmanesh leaves Foxes waiting on top spot
With progress already secured, Rodgers rested Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel, Jonny Evans and Youri Tielemans on Thursday, using the trip to Ukraine to hand minutes to returning trio Wilfred Ndidi, Ricardo Pereira and Caglar Soyuncu.
The latter went off injured after just 17 minutes and, after a largely sluggish display, Leicester fell behind to Allahyar Sayyadmanesh’s 84th-minute strike.
Vladlen Yurchenko had gone closest for the hosts prior to the late goal, the home captain hitting the crossbar, while Nikola Vasilj made a fine double save before Sayyadmanesh’s winner, meaning Leicester will now need to beat AEK Athens next week to guarantee first place.
An injury to Soyuncu compounded Leicester’s slow start, though Cengiz Under should have put the Foxes ahead just after the half-hour, only to drill wide when one-on-one with Vasilj.
Leicester would have been made to pay if not for Danny Ward, who made a strong save from Andrejs Ciganiks’ blistering strike.
