Yahoo Sport 
Steve Cooper explains Leicester City problem after Manchester United atmosphere surprise
Leicester City’s ball retention gifted too many moments of momentum to Manchester United as Steve Cooper’s side failed to take advantage of a less-than-intimidating atmosphere at Old Trafford.
City conceded five goals to be knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night and while there were elements of misfortune and exceptional finishing – Ruud van Nistelrooy admitting United “had luck on their side” – they were too open at times. They gave up 23 shots in total, only conceding more at Arsenal.
But Cooper denied that it was necessarily poor defending that cost City. He feels the problem is the ball being given up cheaply.
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Those moments allowed United to profit and stopped City from being able to cause an upset at Old Trafford, where Cooper seemed surprised at the “calm” atmosphere. For the first game after Erik ten Hag’s sacking, he was expecting something more.
“We’re just frustrated with how the night’s gone,” Cooper said. “It wasn’t an environment that was intimidating at all. It was okay, it was good to play in.
“We did talk about how there might be something different in the air tonight, but it wasn’t an absolutely fully-blown atmosphere. It was quite calm.
“You could see that with the phases we had in the game. We’re just disappointed with the result. It was similar on Friday. It is a balance.
“That’s where the frustration is. We can’t play like we have done in phases of the past two games and then give away moments like we have done. That is an imbalance. We’ve got to work hard to shore that up.
“We keep working. It’s not just the defenders. It’s everybody really. At times it’s not so much the defending but how we turn the ball over. United’s front four are really strong, but they’re at their best when counter-attacking and we’ve handed them counter-attack moments.
“Having to defend in the first place is the problem. I felt like there were moments where we gave United short spells of momentum in the game by handing them the ball when we didn’t need to. I’m not saying we deserved to win tonight but we didn’t deserve to lose 5-2.”
City will now turn their attention to the Premier League clash at Ipswich on Saturday. Cooper won’t be on the touchline at Portman Road after his third yellow card of the season at Old Trafford earned him a one-match ban.
