Final pair of last-16 first legs provide drama
Sacked Ranieri hails Leicester's character as Vardy tally gives hope Juve closes in on quaterfinals
Leicester City coach Claudio Ranieri believed his side earned its own luck after it battled to a 2-1 Champions League defeat by Sevilla on Wednesday night thanks to Jamie Vardy’s late goal after being outclassed by the Spanish side.
Only a string of saves from inspired goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, including one from the penalty spot, prevented a first-half deluge for the struggling English champion and Sevilla also hit the woodwork twice after the break.
Sevilla looked to be in charge of the tie when Joaquin Correa added to Pablo Sarabia’s first-half header to put the host 2-0 ahead, but Vardy made the most of Leicester’s only real chance to keep the Foxes in touch.
“We know they are a better team than us with more quality and experience but we had more heart and we showed character. When you play with character sometimes luck is on your side,” Ranieri told reporters.
“The first half was very tough and Kasper kept the team alive, the second half was much better from us and we believed we could do something good. We played well for a spell and then they scored again.
“We scored a goal that was important for three reasons: it gave us strength, it got Vardy back among the goals and for a striker your confidence depends on scoring, and it kept us in the tie.”
Vardy’s goal, the England international’s first since December, means a 1-0 win in the second leg would take Leicester through to the quarterfinals.
Later on Thursday, Leicester City announced that it has sacked Italian manager Ranieri. Ranieri, whose side is currently a point and a place above the relegation zone, leaves less then a year after clinching a remarkable title triumph.
Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli did not hide his disappointment at his side’s failure to make its dominance count and kill off the tie.
“We leave here with a strange feeling because of their goal, but that shouldn’t change how we feel about our performance. It was difficult to imagine we could dominate a game like that in the Champions League,” he said.
Sampaoli praised Schmeichel’s performance.
“The only option we have is to maintain our philosophy in the second leg when the whole ground will be supporting its team intensely,” he said.
“We dominated the first half and had six chances, we were less dominant in the second but still had more chances and they scored with their one opportunity and are alive because of that. I feel dizzy about how tight the tie still is.”
Meanwhile, Juventus edged closer to the quarterfinals after second-half goals from substitutes Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves earned it a 2-0 away win at 10-man Porto in a one-sided last-16 first-leg tie.
Porto’s downfall was partly self-inflicted after left back Alex Telles received a red card in the 27th minute following two senseless bookings in the space of 90 seconds, leaving the home side to play over an hour against the Serie A leader with 10 men.
Despite holding Juventus at bay for 72 minutes, Porto’s resolve was broken when Miguel Layun deflected Paulo Dybala’s pass into the path of Pjaca who slammed a first-time effort past Iker Casillas.
Dani Alves made sure of victory two minutes later when he controlled Alex Sandro’s cross with his chest before finishing calmly as Juventus, which is still in the Italian Cup, boosted its hopes of a maiden treble ahead of the second leg in Turin on March 14.
“We can be happy as it’s a really good result, but to be honest after the firsthalf red card, we had to win this game,” Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira told BT Sport.
“It’s absolutely not over,” he added. “We’re happy with tonight, but in three weeks we’ll need to be careful as Porto is angry and has nothing to lose.”
Juventus was expected to face a stern test in Portugal, but while it imposed itself from the early stages and controlled the first half, Porto was content to remain deep and absorb the pressure.
The visiting side struggled to forge the clear openings that its dominance deserved, although the lively Dybala fashioned the best chance of the first half with a thumping effort from outside the box which grazed the post.
Telles’s minute and a half of madness quashed any lingering Porto ambition and prompted coach Nuno Espirito Santo to withdraw striker Andre Silva – scorer of four Champions League goals this season - in response.
Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri left out Leonardo Bonucci from the squad, after the pair’s dispute during Friday’s victory over Palermo, and while Juventus was untested at the back, it missed the center-back’s creativity and probing long balls.
The breakthrough eventually came from the bench, as Allegri introduced Pjaca and Dani Alves to offer dynamism and directness and the pair repaid their manager with goals to end Porto’s 20-game undefeated home streak.