Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes praised his players’ resilience after they battled back to snatch a dramatic 1-1 draw against West Brom at The Hawthorns, but admitted he was frustrated by the way his side started the match.
The Foxes looked headed for defeat when Samuel Iling-Junior fired the hosts into an early lead with a precise finish inside the opening 10 minutes.
West Brom controlled much of the game and created several chances to extend their advantage, only for Leicester to stay in contention and strike late through a stoppage-time equaliser that deflected in off West Brom defender Nat Phillips.
Cifuentes highlighted his team’s spirit and mental toughness as the key to rescuing a point in such a challenging atmosphere.
Leicester boss Marti Cifuentes hailed the character of his side after they came from behind again to achieve a result.
He said: “It’s always great to get a late goal. To be able to celebrate at the end was important emotionally. Not the result we wanted but it was disappointing to concede the early goal.
“Football and life sometimes is about challenges and getting through difficult periods. It’s not easy to go through these emotions and have the energy and capacity to get something from those games.
“I really value the personality of the players to get through the emotions of the game and it means we get an important point.”
The equaliser extended Leicester’s unbeaten run to five matches and kept them firmly in the hunt near the top of the Championship table. While Cifuentes acknowledged the team’s slow start as his main disappointment, he took heart from their ability to respond under pressure and leave one of the division’s toughest away grounds with something to show for their efforts.
For Leicester, the late strike served as another reminder of their growing resilience—a trait Cifuentes believes will prove vital as the season’s promotion race intensifies.