End of fairytale for Foxes as they exit Champions League
Brave Leicester’s Champions League dream ended as they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Atletico Madrid.
Jamie Vardy’s second-half goal secured a 1-1 second-leg draw but could not force a stunning comeback after Saul Niguez’s opener.
Atletico reached the semifinals 2-1 on aggregate but only after they survived a scare following the Foxes’ second-half bombardment at the King Power Stadium.
The visitors controlled the tie until Vardy struck and the hosts were reinvigorated as Vardy, Leonardo Ulloa and Riyad Mahrez all went close to adding a second. Niguez’s header proved crucial, though, as Diego Simeone’s side squeezed into the semifinals.
Leicester may now be without captain Wes Morgan – who returned after a six-game absence with a back injury – for the rest of the season after he limped out late with an apparent hamstring injury.
The hosts brought out the pyrotechnics and smoke before kick-off but Atletico engineered a nerveless start where neither side fashioned an opening. Atletico looked
0 Striker Jamie Vardy raises Leicester’s hopes with an equaliser in the 61st minute at the King Power Stadium. to get players behind the ball when Leicester were in possession, condensing the space and refusing to offer the Foxes a high defensive line to exploit.
Strikers Yannick Carrasco and Antoine Griezmann showed flashes of a partnership but the first chance was created by the hosts when Shinji Okazaki prodded a Vardy cross high and wide after 20 minutes.
The Foxes were encouraged but the life was sucked out of the King Power Stadium after 26 minutes when Atletico took the lead on the night.
There had been nothing to suggest either side would break the deadlock but Atletico grabbed a crucial away goal when Filipe Luis crossed and Niguez headed in from 16 yards.
Leading 2-0 on aggregate, Atletico could relax, knowing Leicester had to score three times to go through.
Mahrez volleyed straight at Jan Oblak as the Foxes tried to respond but the visitors began to offer the kind of European masterclass Leicester had not experienced this season.
Atletico looked like they could pick Leicester off at will, with Griezmann’s exceptional workrate underpinning their performance.
The France international was a class above and he almost created a second for Carrasco five minutes after half-time when he beat four defenders only for his cross to drift ahead of his strike partner.
Soon afterwards, Ben Chilwell, on for Yohan Benalouane at the break, volleyed over before Leicester kept their hopes alive by levelling after 61 minutes. Again, as in Seville in the last 16, it was Vardy who came up with the goods when he rammed in from close range.
Tails up, Leicester went for it and Ulloa’s goalbound drive was blocked as they pinned Atletico back. A different game emerged from the one Atletico had so much control over as Leicester rediscovered their belief and Mahrez bent a free-kick just over.
The Foxes relentlessly pressed but could not find another goal and, with Atletico content to rely on their away goal, the visitors offered little going forward.
It was ultimately enough as Craig Shakespeare’s Leicester gallantly bowed out.
BAYERN MUNICH
Lewandowski 53pen, Ramos 77og aet, Real won 6-3 on agg Cristiano Ronaldo plundered a hat-trick as Real Madrid saw off 10-man Bayern Munich 4-2 after extra-time at the Bernabeu to secure the holders’ place in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Robert Lewandowski, who missed the first leg with a shoulder problem, put Bayern ahead on the night from the penalty spot to level the tie on aggregate following Real’s 2-1 win in Munich.
Ronaldo’s diving header in the 76th minute looked to have sent Real through, but a bizarre own goal from captain Sergio Ramos moments later levelled things up at 3-3 overall.
The Germans had to head into extra-time with only 10 men following a second caution for midfielder Arturo Vidal, which looked extremely harsh on the Chile international.
Real made their numerical advantage count as Ronaldo grabbed his second of the night just before the end of the first period, but looked to have been offside. There was, though, no doubt about the strike to complete a perfect hattrick, as the Portugal forward knocked the ball in at the far post.
Substitute Marco Asensio added a fourth in the 112th minute.