Rodgers feels Leicester was denied 'clear penalty' in Man City defeat

VAR finds itself out of favour again.Brendan Rodgers has questioned its use after Leicester had two penalty appeals turned down against Manchester City.

James Maddison's free-kick is blocked by the arm of Kevin De Bruyne

Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers insisted his side was denied a "clear penalty" in Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at the King Power Stadium.

The host had a couple of appeals turned down in the first half for Ederson's challenge on Kelechi Iheanacho and a possible handball against Kevin De Bruyne.

Whereas De Bruyne got away with blocking James Maddison's free-kick with his arm, the officials pointed to the spot at the other end for a similar incident involving Dennis Praet.

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Rodgers agreed referee Paul Tierney was right to award the visitor a penalty, which Sergio Aguero failed to convert, but felt Leicester should also have been given one of its own.

"[Praet] has gone to block it and it's a penalty - we accept that. But you hope you get them for you as well," he told Sky Sports.

"But we're disappointed we didn't get a penalty - it's so clear. I felt it was the reason VAR was brought in. 

"The ball was going towards the goal, the corner, and Kevin De Bruyne stops it. He's lifted his arms up. 

"If you look at the reaction of the other players in the wall, their hands were down. It's handball."

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Kasper Schmeichel kept the champion at bay for large parts of the game by producing a string of fine saves, including a penalty save to frustrate Aguero.

City has now missed its last four top-flight penalties, each by a different player, but it was rescued by substitute Gabriel Jesus' late strike three minutes after he was introduced.

"They are incredibly quick with Jamie Vardy, Harvey Barnes and Kelechi," Guardiola said at his post-match news conference.

"It was an incredible test for us. I'm so pleased for the victory."

Guardiola's side faces Real Madrid on Wednesday for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie and the Catalan coach has been handed a big fitness boost.

Raheem Sterling has missed City's last two games with a hamstring injury, while Aymeric Laporte left the field early in the second half against Leicester, but both men could feature in Madrid.

"[Laporte] asked me to be substituted, but he's not injured," Guardiola said.

"He's been four months, five months injured, we can't forget that. He had to run a lot. It was different against West Ham, we could control it easier. But he's okay.

"Raheem is also much, much, much better. I think he'll be ready."