Leicester tops Sevilla to advance
LEICESTER, England — The fairytale rise of Leicester touched new heights on Tuesday when the English champion reached the Champions League quarterfinals with a 2-0 home win over Sevilla.
Leicester’s 2-1 deficit from the first leg in southern Spain was turned into a 3-2 victory on aggregate at an atmospheric King Power Stadium thanks to Wes Morgan’s close-range strike in the 27th minute and Marc Albrighton’s goal in the 54th.
Sevilla, which had playmaker Samir Nasri sent off in the 74th minute for collecting a second booking for a headbutt, would have taken the game to extra time if Steven N’Zonzi had converted a penalty in the 79th. Instead, it was saved by Kasper Schmeichel, who made amends for giving away the spot kick.
Exactly two years ago, Leicester was in last place in the Premier League after a 0-0 home draw with Hull.
Now, the previously unheralded club from central England can look forward to being in Friday’s quarter-finals draw in the Champions League with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.
It was a sorry night for Sevilla and its frustrated coach Jorge Sampaoli, who was sent to the stands in the closing stages for complaining to match officials. The Spanish side was looking to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time, but couldn’t match the intensity of the home side.
JUVENTUS 1, PORTO 0
TURIN, Italy — Paulo Dybala’s penalty set Juventus on its way to a 1-0 win over 10-man Porto on Tuesday and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Dybala, who had said it was his “dream” to score past veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas, converted from the spot in the 42nd minute after Maxi Pereira was sent off for handling the ball on the goal line.
It was Casillas’ 175th appearance in European competition, breaking the previous record held by former Italy and AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side progressed 3-0 on aggregate and maintained its impressive record at the Juventus Stadium.
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, it was always going to be an uphill task for Porto against the five-time defending Serie A champion — especially as Juventus hadn’t lost in Turin in the Champions League in nearly three years and was undefeated at home in all competition since August 2015.