Leicester City Fan View: A proud moment as Foxes reach Champions League last eight

It’s ok to breathe again, Foxes fans. We’re through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. It was tense, it was hard fought and we probably should have scored more. We did it though. A proud moment to be a Leicester fan!

Once again, huge credit must be heaped on goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel, for being the hero. He looked anguished to have conceded the penalty, when left with no choice but to come out, and even more determined to save it. Having very confidently saved one in the first leg, he produced another fine save that sent Leicester fans wild with belief.

The Dane’s for a pretty good record in the Champions League, his first conceded goals only occurring in the first leg match, injury having prevented him extending a run of clean sheets in the competition. It’s a testament to Schmeichel that his celebrations were short lived, favouring getting everybody organised and trying to get a third goal that would have killed off the match. We probably should have got it too, both Jamie Vardy and Islam Slimani left to rue chances they’d otherwise have scored.

READ MORE: Five things we learned from Leicester’s historic night

That miss aside, Vardy did everything else we needed, making life very difficult for the Sevilla defenders. It’s not likely they come up against a striker as aggressive and combative as the England man and he was loving every minute of it. If this performance was more like the Leicester of last year, it was definitely the Vardy of last year. All he was missing was a goal but his dogged performance saw him chasing down every ball, making those impressive tackles that frustrate the opposition out on the wings and generally getting in their faces. His fisticuffs with Samir Nasri, the latter sent off, may have tarred it a little for those non-Leicester fans but it was the kind of performance that only endears him more to the Foxes faithful.

The team dynamic was back again, everybody chipping in and more than playing their parts. Defensively, it was one of the most joined up displays of the season and maybe one of Robert Huth’s best games too. He made so made vital tackles or headers, particularly a slide tackle in the first half that was timed to perfection. It was Huth’s centre-back partner, Wes Morgan, who got his name on the goal sheet and opened the scoring after a fabulous free-kick into the box from Riyad Mahrez. It sort of made up for his error in the second half that left Schmeichel with little choice but to charge out and try to steal the ball, leading to Sevilla’s penalty. Generally though, the defence were pretty solid and unified. Danny Simpson was important again, often being the player who stayed back at set pieces and mopped up for others.

Our other goal came from another unlikely source. Feel free to say this fact for the next week or two while you can; Marc Albrighton has scored as many Champions League goals this campaign as Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s already in the history books for having scored our first ever goal in the competition back in Belgium and doubled that tally tonight. It was a nice strike and helps those who don’t always praise him where due the proof of just what he does for the team. He ran and ran again tonight and while he may not have had the big target man to aim for with his crosses, but he made his contribution in many other ways. As did every member of the team.

It wasn’t until the end that fans were shown N’Golo Kante, watching on from the stands and looking very happy. After his own blistering performance last night, hopefully he can appreciate the shift that his replacement, Wilfred Ndidi, put in. According to the statistics, the midfielder didn’t give away the ball to the opposition the entire night. He was heavily involved too, yet again providing a performance that defies his age, he’s still just twenty. There were some tense spells of Sevilla pressure throughout and he handled them all calmly and with intense dedication to winning the ball back. Given the overall contribution throughout the team, Ndidi likely won’t receive the praise he deserves. His efforts deserve to be talked about though and he’s turning into the signing of the season. Strong aerially, not afraid to stick a foot in and covering virtually every inch of the pitch, he’s a strong shout for man of the match.

The King Power was electric; loud from start to finish and the displays looked great. From the atmosphere outside where Sevilla fans were embraced and very much enjoying themselves, to the battle cry like roar when the official’s board for extra time announced four minutes and we edged one step closer. Champions League nights have been special and the stadium’s rarely looked better. The club provided flags for all to stamp the stadium blue and white and the tifo put on by fan group Union FS was a good tribute to Craig Shakespeare. The best ever start to a managerial campaign at Leicester? May well be.

It was a night to remember for everybody associated with the club and I’ve rarely been left so utterly speechless and overwhelmed by how proud the club has made me. Being in the Champions League was a dream and so many doubted we could do the English league proud, yet here we are, in the last eight with the biggest and the best. Everybody has their own preference on who they want in the draw. Every game will see us face a European giant and we’ll be the underdogs, but that won’t phase us. We’ve already progressed further than expected and done ourselves proud.

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