What Leicester City coach Ruud van Nistelrooy had to say after Okoli's first Premier League goal

Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy faced the cameras shortly after the Foxes held Brighton & Hove to a 2-2 draw at the Amex Stadium and one of the topics he touched on was Okoli's first Premier League goal.

Leicester City fought back twice to claim a point, with Okoli, a player of interest to Nigeria manager Eric Chelle, netting the equalizer in the 74th minute.

The Vicenza native made his presence felt as he converted Bilal El Khannouss' free-kick with a powerful header into the net.

João Pedro netted two penalties, while Stephy Mavididi scored in the 31st minute, putting the Seagulls a goal ahead until Okoli equalized.

It has taken the Italian-Nigerian central defender twenty-two games to score his first goal for Leicester City and he totaled 1,447 minutes on the pitch before opening his goalscoring account.

Ruud van Nistelrooy praised Okoli for his passion and performance, and further highlighted the emotional impact his strike had on the fans, noting how the away supporters responded with enthusiasm. 

In quotes relayed by LeicestershireLive, the Dutch tactician said: "It was a great ball in and a very good finish by Caleb. He showed his passion also in how much he cares about this club.

"That’s the passion you want to see and that spark was very quickly transferred to the away end.

"They carried us through the second half, pushed us forward and I think we deserved the winner. We had two or three occasions for the winner."

Okoli remains eligible for the Super Eagles, having been an unused substitute in six consecutive UEFA Nations League matches played by Italy in 2024.

The 23-year-old has caps for his country of birth at U19, U20 and U21 levels.

Okoli qualifies to represent the Super Eagles through his Nigerian parents Paul and Tina Okoli who arrived in Italy in 1996.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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