FOR YOU, BOSS
Mahrez winner dedicated to tragic Vichai
A HEARTBROKEN riyad Mahrez sealed a crucial victory for Manchester City by scoring the winning goal against tottenham at Wembley, then dedicated his strike to the Leicester owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
Mahrez formed a key part of the Leicester team who won the Premier League under the stewardship of Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter crash outside the club’s king Power Stadium on Saturday evening.
Mahrez said: ‘It has been very difficult for me. the boss was very special to me.’
Manchester City returned to the top of the
Premier League table through Mahrez’s sixth-minute goal but the Algerian revealed he had struggled to sleep after hearing that the owner had died. Srivaddhanaprabha was known for his particularly close bond with the Leicester squad and Mahrez pointed to the sky after putting City in front. Mahrez added: ‘I spent four-and-ahalf years at Leicester. He was such a good person and such a good human, so I am very, very sad. ‘That is why when I scored I point my hands up to the sky to him, he was great to me and to the club. He was like a dad to me, he was a very special person. ‘I was heartbroken and it is really tough for me to hear this. I’m with Leicester and I’m with the family of the victims because it is not an easy situation. ‘I always wanted to play because I know he would have wanted me to play, he was very passionate about football. ‘It was difficult to sleep after hearing about it — you have to try to deal with these things in life but it is very difficult.’ City manager Pep Guardiola paid tribute to his match-winner, saying: ‘Of course we spoke with him, to see how he felt. It is a big loss for Leicester and Riyad was part of it. ‘I didn’t speak about leaving him out because I know how competitive he is and I know his personality.’ Guardiola was, however, unhappy with the state of the Wembley pitch. The game took place just one day after the NFL match between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jacksonville Jaguars. As a result, the Wembley pitch did not look up to Premier League standard. Guardiola said before the game that he was worried about whether his players would finish the match ‘in shape’. Afterwards, he admitted that Tottenham would probably have equalised if a bobble had not deceived Erik Lamela, who fired over from close range. ‘It was not football conditions to play,’ said Guardiola. ‘For our players and the players of Tottenham, hopefully they will sort the problem for the future. If the grass is good, then Lamela scores.’ Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld added: ‘I have to be honest, the pitch wasn’t good. ‘Both teams like to play out from the back and to play football in these circumstances was very difficult. ‘I think we deserved more, we worked very hard, and we had a good opportunity but unfortunately we missed it so it’s frustrating. ‘You don’t want to concede early against Manchester City but our response was good and I thought we deserved more. ‘Harry Kane went through one on one with the goalkeeper and with a bit more luck there we could score and the game changes.’