'He caught me' - Iheanacho defends Community Shield penalty call after leading Leicester to Man City win

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The Nigeria international converted from the spot in the 89th minute on Saturday

Leicester City star Kelechi Iheanacho insisted that referee Paul Tierney was right to give a late penalty that handed the Foxes victory over Manchester City in Saturday's Community Shield.

The Nigeria international came off the bench for Leicester with just over 10 minutes on the clock and made an immediate impact, drawing a foul from Nathan Ake inside the box.

Iheanacho converted the penalty himself for the only goal of the game, but several City players were left furious by Tierney's decision which decided the clash in Leicester's favour.

"I think it's a penalty," Iheanacho explained to ITV after the final whistle. "[Ake] caught me. The referee saw it but he wanted us to play on, so if we scored it would have been okay.

"I have been practicing [my penalties]. I missed one last season but I have been practicing all the time. I just had it in my mind to shoot on an angle and hit it hard, so that's what I did."

Iheanacho lined up at City before moving to the King Power Stadium, and admitted that beating his former employers held an odd feeling for him amid the elation.

"I don't know what to say. I think it is mixed emotions. I'm really grateful for getting the trophy today for my team. I'm really happy," he added.

"Disappointed not to start? Not really. We have a great squad and anybody that the manager puts in will deliver. We need everybody to get through the season so I'm not disappointed.

"I'm just happy for the team whether I start or not. I just know one thing, if I come in then I have to make an impact and help my team. That's what I did today."

The manager was ecstatic with the result as well as the support his team received from fans.

"There was a great feeling coming here today," he said on BBC Radio. "Every Leicester player, fan, staff member coming here, it was a really special feeling.

"We wanted to take that into the game and keep that feeling going, and thankfully we've done that.

"I think if we could have given the supporters more tickets they would have filled the whole stadium, so it would've been nice to have more in.

"But I felt it in the FA Cup final and I felt it today, it felt more like 60,000 supporters."

2021-08-07 23:00:03

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