Brendan Rodgers has revealed that Leicester City's need to be ‘more aggressive’ saw him take off Wilfred Ndidi against a 10-man Arsenal side.
The Foxes scored all their goals in the second half as they defeated Unai Emery’s side 3-0 at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
The visitors had Ainsley Maitland-Niles sent off in the 36th minute and, to unsettle their drive, Rodgers substituted the ever-present Ndidi - cautioned after 13 minutes of action - for Harvey Barnes at half-time.
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“I thought when it was 11 vs. 11 we were the better team, we looked a threat, we just needed to control their counter-attacks,” Rodgers told the Leicester City club website.
“In the second half we wanted to be more aggressive, taking off Wilf [Wilfred Ndidi] who was on a yellow card, put an extra creative midfield player in and then putting Harvey [Barnes] wide.
“I thought in the second half we showed great fitness levels, great energy and scored all three very good goals.”
The switch paid dividends as Youri Tielemans’ 59th-minute header and a late double from Jamie Vardy handed Rodgers his fifth win on his eighth outing as Leicester manager.
On the international scene, Ndidi’s Nigeria have been drawn in Group B of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt, which kicks off on June 21.
The Super Eagles will look to navigate past Burundi, Guinea and Madagascar for a spot in the knockout phase.