Gaps got too big in midfield, says Warburton after QPR’s 3-3 friendly draw with Leicester

By NICK KITUNO

Mark Warburton was encouraged by his team’s display as Queens Park Rangers and Leicester City shared the spoils in an enthralling 3-3 preseason friendly draw.

Charlie Austin and Yoann Barbet struck either side of half-time to hand the R’s a two-goal lead but the Foxes’ quickfire double saw it quickly evaporate. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Patson Daka scored twice in two minutes to restore parity.

Rob Dickie replenished QPR’s advantage in the 82^nd minute, only for a Kelechi Iheanacho penalty to deny the Hoops an impressive friendly victory at Loftus Road, where they host Millwall in the Championship season opener on Saturday.

It draws QPR’s short preseason to a close, fresh off the back of two consecutive wins which include an impressive 4-2 victory over Manchester United.

Despite his side conceding some “avoidable” goals, Warburton took positives out of the result against the FA Cup holders.

He told QPR’s in-house media: “[We made] sure we tried to impose ourselves on the game, made sure we maintained shape against good players, and play with intensity and purpose. We had to move the ball with intensity and purpose, and I thought we did that.

“I thought it was a really good hour of football and I thought the team produced some really good football for long periods of the game.

“I thought there was a spell, 25 to 35 [minutes], where … the gaps got too big in midfield, and good teams can punish you. Jamie Vardy pulled one just wide of the post, but in general, I thought we looked good for long periods against a very high-quality opponent.”

After Dickie put QPR back in front, Leicester were handed a lifeline when an onrushing Seny Dieng caught goalscorer Daka inside the box with just a couple minutes remaining of normal time.

Iheanacho duly stepped up to send Dieng the wrong way and, despite being a friendly, Rangers may rue having been so close to beating a top-flight side after having led twice.

Warburton believes it is all part of the learning process. He added: “We’ve scored seven goals against two teams who finished in the top four of the Premier League [last season], we’ve shown really good quality going forward.

“As you say letting in three goals is disappointing, the penalty could have been avoided – all the goals, really, should be avoided, we can do better – and that’s the learning stage.”