Leicester beat Sevilla, in Champions League quarters
First, the Premier League title. Now, the Champions League quarterfinals.
Is there no end to Leicester’s soccer fairytale?
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 the 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.
TURIN Juventus coasted into the Champions League quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Porto on Tuesday after a first-half penalty and red card ended the Portuguese side’s hopes.
Paulo Dybala converted the penalty three minutes before the break to complete a 3-0 aggregate win for the Serie A side after Porto defender Maximiliano Pereira blocked Gonzalo Higuain’s goalbound shot with his arm and was sent off.
The defeat put a dampener an historic evening for Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas who made a record 175th appearance in European competition, overhauling Paulo Maldini’s total.
The Italians never looked like relinquishing their 2-0 lead from the first leg of the last 16 tie in Portugal three weeks ago when Porto also played the second half with 10 men.
ON FRIDAY, LEICESTER’S NAME WILL BE IN A POT ALONGSIDE THE CREAM IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW