The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Sensational Foxes.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Foxes upset odds again to book place in quarter-final draw
Wes Morgan and Danny Drinkwater celebrate after Leicester reached the Champions League quarter-finals last night after beating Sevilla 2-0 in the second leg of their last-16 tie for a 3-2 aggregate win.
LEICESTER CITY 2 SEVILLA 0 (AGG 3-2)
Leicester overturned a first-leg deficit to stun 10-man Sevilla and book their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The Foxes, in the competition for the first time in their history, trailed 2-1 from the away leg in Spain but goals from Wes Morgan and Marc Albrighton saw them progress 3-2 on aggregate.
The defending Premier League champions had tipped the momentum in their favour when captain Morgan somewhat fortuitously turned in Riyad Mahrez’s 27th-minute cross.
There was nothing fortunate about Albrighton’s 55th-minute goal, though, with the midfielder firing low past Sergio Rico. Samir Nasri’s dismissal, after a clash with Jamie Vardy with a quarter of an hour remaining, seemed to end Sevilla’s challenge.
But there was still time for late drama as Kasper Schmeichel was adjudged to have fouled Machin Vitolo in the area, but the Leicester custodian atoned for his error by guessing right and saving Steven Nzonzi’s penalty.
Craig Shakespeare, overseeing his first game in full-time charge of Leicester, was delighted with how his side implemented his attacking game-plan.
He said: “The idea was to make it as uncomfortable as we could for Sevilla in the first 15 minutes.
“I thought we set the game-plan out tremendously and, of course, goals change games. Wes getting the first one put us in the driving seat.
“Of course, we rode our luck at times, you have to in any football game, but I thought the character the players showed today was immense and there for everyone to see.”
Juventus also reached the last eight by seeing off Porto 3-0 on aggregate.
The Italian giants had done much of the hard work in Portugal when they earned a 2-0 lead, and they finished the job in front of their own fans.
Paulo Dybala netted the only goal of the game, slotting home a penalty in the 41st minute after Maxi Pereira had handled, earning the Porto defender a straight red card in the process.
Manchester City will look to join Leicester in the quarter-final draw when they take on Monaco tonight.
City head into the second leg of their last-16 tie at the Stade Louis II with a 5-3 aggregate lead after a pulsating meeting at the Etihad Stadium last month.