EPL champions Leicester secure shootout win over Celtic
GLASGOW: English Premier League champions Leicester secured a penalty shootout victory over Celtic after a 1-1 draw in an International Champions Cup friendly in Glasgow.
Last season’s Professional Footballers Association Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez grabbed the opener for Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester in the opening minute of the second half on Saturday with a wonderful individual goal.
With a Champions League thirdround qualifying first leg at Astana in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers rang the changes at half-time, but 20-yearold Irish defender Eoghan O’Connell equalised just before the hour mark.
The International Champions Cup sees matches that are level after 90 minutes go straight to penalties, and after both sides were successful with their initial five kicks, Kasper Schmeichel saved from James Forrest and Daniel Amartey sealed a 6-5 win for Leicester.
The Foxes now head to the United States for a game in the same competition against French Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain in California on July 31, before taking on Barcelona in Sweden on Aug 3. “Very happy today. “We were concentrated and compact,” Ranieri told Leicester’s Twitter account. “The players came back in good condition. We are getting better. Celtic’s fitness is ahead of ours. It was a good challenge.
“We have a long journey to LA now, but the experience of playing in these fantastic matches is important.”
Scottish champions Celtic face a tricky game in Kazakhstan as they look to reach the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2013.