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Louise Thomas
Editor
Leicester boss Steve Cooper wants his side to be “obsessed” with backing up their first Premier League win of the season with further good performances after the international break.
Facundo Buonanotte scored the only goal of the game against Bournemouth in the 16th minute, dancing his way into the area and smashing the ball past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Foxes wanted a penalty when Illia Zabarnyi appeared to handle in the area but referee Darren Bond waved claims away as Bournemouth piled the pressure on in the second half.
The Cherries thought they had equalised when Evanilson glanced in from Lewis Cook’s free-kick but his celebrations were cut short by a belated offside flag as Leicester hung on.
Cooper was relieved to get a first win heading into the latest break, and said: “I feel happy for the players, equally as happy for the supporters and staff, it was always going to be important to get the first win back in the Premier League.
“I’ve seen many win here, I would have loved for it to be sooner, we know that. We could have done some things better but we’ve also been unlucky, so I’m just glad everything went well.
“It’s great to win but we have a lot of work to do to be a force.
“It’s international break and the work continues and now we need to be completely obsessed with beating Southampton in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Argentinian Facundo Buonanotte, 19, was one of the outstanding performers and his bright start to life in a Leicester shirt continues.
He grabbed his second goal of the season and Cooper was full of praise for his match-winner.
He added: “He’s a really talented young guy, really good attitude to the game. I’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of players of his age of a similar talent.
“He’s aggressive, a risk-taker with the ball and for a creative player he really puts in a defensive effort as well. We’re enjoying working with him, his shots, his pass for (Jamie) Vardy’s chance.
“He’s a player that can make the difference.”
Bournemouth were looking for back-to-back wins and failed to back up Monday’s impressive display over Southampton against another side who have endured a tough start to the season.
Andoni Iraola bemoaned his side’s inability to take their chances, having 17 shots compared to Leicester’s six.
Iraola said: “It’s a difficult one because we can look at the start, the chances, the corners we’ve had. We feel like it’s probably not fair but at the end they took their chance and we didn’t.
“We hit the post, the bar, a great save from the goalkeeper from Ryan Christie and we had more than enough chances to score.
“We are not punishing the opposition when we are playing better and when you are not taking your chances you can lose these type of games.
“I think we give credit to Buonanotte but apart from that we haven’t conceded any other chances.
“On the other side we have had many more and we have to improve, especially the finishing side because it’s what makes the difference and gives you the points.”
