First, the Premier league title. Now, the Champions league quarterfinals. Is there no end to leicester's football fairytaleIJ
The improbable rise of a previously unheralded club from central England touched new heights on Tuesday when leicester beat Sevilla 2-0 to reach the last eight of Europe's elite club competition, courtesy of a 3-2 aggregate victory. Two years ago to the day, leicester was in last place in the Premier league after a dour 0-0 home draw with Hull. On Friday, its name will be in a pot alongside the cream of the continent — Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and two others — in Champions league draw in Nyon.
"We proved a lot of people wrong and pulled off the impossible again," said leicester captain Wes Morgan, one of the scorers inside an atmospheric King Power Stadium. We will take whoever comes."
That's the kind of uncompromising attitude that carried leicester to the Premier league title last season at odds of 5,000-1 and is sweeping the team to another potential miracle. No team is likely to feel comfortable in the cauldron that is the King Power Stadium on nights like these.
"let slip the dogs of war," urged a message on a giant banner behind one of the goals before the match. It was a line from 'Julius Caesar,' a play by William Shakespeare — the English playwright who has the same surname as leicester's new manager.
Craig Shakespeare recently took over from Claudio Ranieri, the coach who orchestrated leicester's sensational Premier league title triumph but was fired because the team had found itself fighting a relegation battle in its championship defense. Shakespeare has three wins from three matches in charge, and has got the team playing back at last season's levels. "We tried to make it as uncomfortable as we could for Sevilla," said Shakespeare, who was pictured on that banner holding a dog on a leash.
Sevilla — currently the third best team in Spain and winner of the last three Europa league titles — played into leicester's hands here, leaving space behind its defense and failing to match the home side's intensity and energy. Its players also gave away silly fouls, one of which was conceded at the edge of their area to allow Riyad Mahrez to curl in a free kick that Morgan turned home at the back post for 1-0 in the 27th.
Winger Marc Albrighton doubled the lead in the 54th — and put leicester clear on aggregate — by lashing home left-footed from just inside the area after Sevilla defender Adil Rami made a poor headed clearance. Seconds earlier, Sevilla left back Sergio Escudero had powered a dipping 35-meter shot against the crossbar. Sevilla's anger boiled over. So frustrated was French playmaker Samir Nasri that he was sent off for collecting two bookings — one for kicking out at Wilfried Ndidi in the first half and the second for aiming a headbutt at Jamie Vardy in the 74th.
Still, outplayed and out-thought, Sevilla could have taken the game to extra time when leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel brought down Vitolo in the area. Steven N'Zonzi took the penalty in the 79th but Schmeichel guessed the right way, just like he did in the first leg when he denied Joaquin Correa from the spot.
"It's been decisive that we've missed two penalties," Sampaoli said.
Time to take foxes seriously
The obvious answer was Barcelona or Real Madrid. Bayern Munich would have been understandable, too.
But when Gianluigi Buffon was asked which team he would like to avoid in the draw for the Champions league quarterfinals, the Juventus goalkeeper went for competition's big outsider.
"leicester," the Italy great said, "because it is a dangerous team, a team which will have enthusiasm, a team which has the weapons to cause trouble for teams who want to take the initiative."
Against leicester, Buffon added, "there would also be everything to lose."
Indeed, the previously unheralded club from central England is making a habit of embarrassing Europe's big teams. last season, the cream of English football couldn't live with leicester, which romped to the Premier league title by 10 points at odds of 5,000-1. This season, they've moved onto the Champions league, topping a group that contained two-time European champion FC Porto before eliminating Sevilla in the last 16.
"We are in there on merit, make no mistake," leicester manager Craig Shakespeare said.
leicester, after all, is 360 minutes away from a Champions league final.