Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri emphasised on how important their pre-season friendly against Oxford United proved to be.

The Foxes secured their first pre-season victory following a 2-1 victory over Oxford at the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday.

A total of 22 players took to the pitch under the City boss, with a blend of youngsters, experienced players and summer signings all helping the Foxes to victory, reports the Leicester City website.

The U’s took the lead through Chris Maguire as he curled in a free kick from 20 yards, but goals from Demarai Gray and Jeffrey Schlupp helped City beat Michael Appleton’s men.

Ranieri insists that his side’s clash against Oxford proved to be vital in assessing how his players have coped during their first pre-season encounter.

‘It was important to make a very good session,’ Ranieri said.

‘It was our first friendly match and we won which is good, but it’s important that nobody got an injury.

He added: ‘We increased our fitness and stamina and that is important – it’s important to repeat some movement. Some players played 60 minutes and the others played just 30 or 45 minutes.’

‘The plan was okay. Everybody was involved and everybody understood what our movement, idea, and philosophy. I’m very, very pleased with them so far.’

The Foxes will now take on Scottish champions Celtic in the International Champions Cup in Glasgow.

‘The players’ condition is slowly getting better and now we have three friendly matches in the International Champions Cup,’ the manager said.

‘It is very important for us to improve our experience against great, great teams. It will be a very, very good match in Glasgow. I want to see all my players under pressure.’