Ranieri tells defence to tighten up after Derby draw
LONDON (Reuters) - Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri called on his leaky defence to plug the holes after they rescued a late draw in their FA Cup fourth round clash against second tier Derby County on Friday.
The Premier League champions were five minutes from exiting the cup but staved off embarrassment thanks to captain Wes Morgan's late header that rescued a 2-2 draw.
It was another awkward evening for Leicester's rearguard, who were the backbone of their stunning title victory last season, but were breached twice before halftime against Derby.
"We have to concentrate. Too many times we concede. We can only work and be more focused," Ranieri told the BBC.
Leicester took the lead with a woeful own goal from Darren Bent, who then drew Derby level with a precise header at the other end. Craig Bryson put the hosts ahead as he carved an easy path through the Leicester defence five minutes before halftime.
It was another example of how porous Leicester's backline has become. Ranieri's side have conceded 37 league goals in 22 games this season, having let in one fewer in the whole of their title winning campaign in 2015/16.
For Derby's former England manager Steve McClaren it was a missed opportunity.
"We did everything we could, we came across a team who were at it tonight," he said.
"Our character was fantastic, we dug in in the second half and (Derby keeper) Scott Carson made some saves when we needed him to."
(Reporting by Toby Davis,; editing by Pritha Sarkar)