Schmeichel saves day for Leicester in comeback over Sevilla; Juve through
Just like his father nearly two decades ago, Kasper Schmeichel proved a formidable last line of defense on Tuesday with a crucial penalty save against Sevilla to help Leicester City through to the Champions League quarterfinals.
A performance reminiscent of his those given by his dad Peter, Manchester United’s 1999 Champions league winner, reached a crescendo when the junior Schmeichel dived to his left to smother Steven N’Zonzi’s 80th-minute penalty.
It was the second time in the tie 30-year-old Schmeichel had saved a penalty, having also denied Joaquin Correa from the spot in the first leg when he almost single-handedly kept a dominant Sevilla side down to a slender 2-1 advantage.
Goals by Wes Morgan and Marc Albrighton on Tuesday had rattled the Spaniards, who had Samir Nasri red-carded 14 minutes from time, but Leicester still needed its ’keeper, who seven years ago was playing for Notts County in England’s fourth-tier.
Schmeichel senior, now 53, joined in the celebrations as Leicester’s fans returned to dreamland in scenes reminiscent of last season’s improbable Premier League title triumph.
“It is a great feeling to help the team progress. It is about confidence,” Schmeichel, who joined Leicester from Leeds United in 2011, said after the 3-2 aggregate win.
“But that is what I’m there for. We have gone out and played more like we did last season and we are reaping the rewards of it now. It was a fantastic night.”
Leicester’s performance was a throwback to the high-intensity soccer of last year and makes its season-long downturn in the Premier League even harder to fathom.
Craig Shakespeare, named manager until the end of the season on Sunday having masterminded domestic wins against Liverpool and Hull City since the sacking of title-winning coach Claudio Ranieri, can now look forward to a Champions League quarterfinal – as well as the rigors of a relegation dogfight.
Ranieri’s former assistant said the key to the sudden turnaround was quite simple – do as last season. LEICESTER CITY goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel saves a penalty off the foot of Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi in the of the teams’ Champions League last-16 second leg on Tuesday night, in which Leicester reversed a 2-1 deficit with a 2-0 home conquest to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory and advance to the quarterfinals.
“These players enjoy pressing from the front. We are a better team when we do that. The idea was to make it as uncomfortable as we could for Sevilla in the first 15 minutes,” he said of the three-time Europa League winner.
“We have just knocked out one of the best teams in Europe in my opinion. Their credentials are there for everyone to see and we can be immensely proud.
“But it is only three games, somewhere along the line there might be a hiccup but I have to enjoy tonight.”
Skipper Wes Morgan, who scored the first goal, said Leicester was proving the doubters wrong again and would take “whoever comes” in the last-eight draw.
“We pulled off the impossible again,” said Morgan who became the first Jamaican to score in the Champions League.
Juventus 1, FC Porto 0
(Juve wins 3-0 on aggregate) Meanwhile in Turin, Juventus coasted into the quarterfinals over Porto after a first-half penalty and red card ended the Portuguese side’s lingering hopes of a comeback.
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 goal-bound 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 after Alex Telles was dismissed for two bookable offenses.
“There will always be a doubt as to whether it would have been different with eleven players,” said Porto coach Nuno Espirito Santo. “It’s not right for a team to be penalized twice, first with a penalty and then a red card.”
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was not entirely satisfied. “We need to improve the quality of our football which in the second half left a lot to be desired,” he said. “The result isn’t everything.”
Porto’s hopes of becoming the first team to claw back a 2-0 deficit away from home in the knockout stage tie ended on a Juventus corner.
Former Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Casillas made a reflex save from Mandzukic’s close-range header but the ball rebounded straight to Higuain whose shot was on target.
Pereira leapt in the way but the ball struck his out-stretched arm, the Uruguayan defender was sent off and Dybala dispatched the penalty.
Porto had its best chance early in the second half when Francisco Soares broke down the left and outmuscled Mehdi Benatia, but the Brazilian, who has scored 10 goals in his last seven league games, shot wide.
The rest of the game was like a training session for Juve although Diogo Jota had another chance for the visitors when he broke away late on, but shot into the side-netting.
The draw for the quarterfinal pairings was set to take place late Wednesday night, after the conclusion of the Monaco-Manchester City and Atletico Madrid-Bayer Leverkusen second legs. (Reuters)