Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has praised midfielder Boubakary Soumare after the 22-year-old made his first start for the club in Thursday's Europa League clash with Napoli.
Soumare, who was signed from Ligue 1 champions Lille for £18m in the summer, had made two substitute appearances for the Foxes in the Premier League, but Rodgers deployed him from the start on Thursday alongside Wilfred Ndidi.
The Midlands side took a two-goal lead at the King Power Stadium, and by the time Soumare was withdrawn in the 78th minute, Victor Osimhen had pulled a goal back for the Italian side, before he headed in his second of the game in the dying minutes to force a share of the spoils.
When asked about his new signing's performance in the post-match interview, Rodgers said: "Bouba, I was delighted with. I thought he had a really good 70 minutes. He tired towards the end, which was why we took him off."
Defending his reason for substituting the French midfielder off, the manager said: "It's understandable because it was his first start in a really high-level game. I was delighted with him, I thought he showed great composure and good physicality in the game, so he was excellent."
Fellow summer signing Patson Daka also made his first start in a Foxes shirt on Thursday, and the Zambian forward looked to have added to their lead, only to see his goal ruled out for offside after a VAR check.
Sam Varley
