Tiredness is not an excuse for Fulham defeat – Leicester winger Harvey Barnes

Leicester City v Fulham – Premier League – King Power Stadium
(Image credit: Michael Regan)

Harvey Barnes refused to blame Leicester’s surprise defeat to Fulham on fatigue.

The winger scored a late consolation but could not stop the Cottagers claiming a 2-1 win.

The Foxes slipped to a third defeat in four home games after Ademola Lookman’s opener and Ivan Cavaleiro’s penalty won it for the visitors on Monday.

Leicester missed the chance to go level on points with Tottenham and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.

They now face a gruelling 3,200 mile round trip to Ukraine for their Europa League game with Zorya Luhansk on Thursday but Barnes denied the Foxes are tired.

“A little bit, but I don’t think it’s an excuse,” said the England international. “I think there’s been a lot of rotation within the squad.

“Of course, we’ve had the Europa League as well, but for us, I think everyone’s going into each game as fresh as they can be and you know, I don’t think that’s a reason really.

“You do need to look back at it, you need to learn from the mistakes, but ultimately, you need to try and move on as quickly as you can and make sure you put it in the next game.”

Brendan Rodgers is likely to make changes on Thursday with Ricardo Pereira, Caglar Soyuncu and Wilfred Ndidi expected to return from injury as Leicester look to win Group G.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to go and win and try and win the group there,” Barnes told the club’s official site.

“That would be a real positive for us, so we’re looking to bounce back. Obviously, we can go and win that game and then hopefully take that form into the league.”

Fulham climbed out of the relegation zone after their first away win of the season.

Boss Scott Parker had told his players not to be daunted by recent defeats and penalty gaffes – having missed their previous three – and Lookman believes they proved a point.

“The boys, we all had each others’ back. We all fought for each other and got the three points,” he told the club’s website.

“It was a great penalty from Cav and long may it continue.

“It showed we have the confidence in ourselves, we worked for each other and that’s why we got the three points. We defended very well and we’re happy with the win.”