Saturday 22 July 2017 18:24, UK
Craig Shakespeare says he is proud of his Leicester players after they ended as runners-up in the Premier League Asia Trophy.
The Foxes were beaten 2-1 by Liverpool in the Hong Kong final on Saturday, although they did take the lead through Islam Slimani in the 12th minute after he headed home.
But Mo Salah restored parity eight minutes later with his own nodded finish before a stunning strike from Philippe Coutinho sealed the victory for Liverpool.
Having travelled nearly 6,000 miles to compete in the tournament, Shakespeare has praised his side for adapting to the conditions in Hong Kong and says they can continue to improve during pre-season.
"In the second game of pre-season, it is more about the fitness of the players and getting the players some minutes on the pitch," he told Sky Sports following the game.
"I thought the first-half performance was very good from both teams. It was dominated by offensive players but once we made the changes, you could see that we contained Liverpool in the second half without being too adventurous but I thought we made some really good chances.
"Overall, I'm very pleased and I'm proud of the players in terms of their application. It's our first trip to Asia and we've gone on this in between time, not Hong Kong time but more like UK time, and we've adapted to it really well.
"It's important now that we improve the fitness levels of the players. Physically and technically, I'm sure we'll get better as we go along. Early doors, you feel a bit rusty but the quality of the opposition out here proves that your concentration levels have to be spot on.
"We'll reassess now. We've got a long flight back to the UK and we'll give them a bit of recovery time, not long though because we're down in Luton on Wednesday. Hopefully, as we go along, in each game, we'll get that improvement."
The game also saw another appearance from new defender Harry Maguire, who played the entirety of the final, with Shakespeare pleased with his start at Leicester.
"The biggest compliment I can pay him is that he looks like he's been part of the squad for a couple of years. Not only is he a good character, but he is a good player as well. I think he'll get better," he added.
