Ranieri praises Leicester´s spirit

Claudio Ranieri was elated by Leicester City’s second-half showing as they came from two goals down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in the Premier League.

Leicester were two goals behind until the 72nd minute, when Ritchie De Laet began the comeback by flicking home from a corner.

Momentum then shifted to the hosts, who completed the turnaround courtesy of strikes from Jamie Vardy and debutant Nathan Dyer.

The result sent Ranieri’s undefeated side up to second in the table and he expressed his delight at the determination his men showed.

“It was an amazing match. I want to say well done to my players, they showed good character and fantastic spirit. That is the spirit that I love,” said the Italian.

“It was important for us to restart after the international break with a victory. In the second half we showed a very good performance.

“[At half-time] I said that they are keeping the ball well and if we continue in this way it will be difficult for us. It is an open match and we can score, but it’s important to show our character.

“For me, it was important that the players show their personality. You can give everything and lose, but the mistake is when you do’’t do it as a team, and that’s what we did today. It was very good.”

Ranieri felt that the fans in the King Power Stadium played their part, urging the team to victory following De Laet’s strike.

However, he insisted that the club’s aim remains solely to avoid relegation.

“After the first goal the atmosphere in the stadium changed and our fans pushed us on fantastically,” he added.

“The fans can dream, but we have our feet on the ground. We know the Premier League is very changeable.

“We have to be concentrated and focused on our goal of remaining in the Premier League. After that we can dream.”