Full-time: Leicester 1-0 Porto
A lusty cheer, followed by relieved exhalation, greet the final whistle, as Leicester have held on to claim their first home victory in the Champions League! They deserved to lead at half-time and looked quite comfortable for a while, but the last half hour was hairy and they enjoyed a couple of narrow escapes. Amartey, Slimani and Huth were tremendous. Leicester are top of their group with maximum points from two matches!
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90+4 min: Huth wins another header, clearing a mighty hoof into the home box.
Leicester substitution: Musa on, Vardy off.
90+3 min: Corner for Porto. Nerves jangle all around the ground. Felipe wins the header at the near post, and that’s the trigger for a game of aerial ping-pong in the home box. The tension is almost unbearable! Huth defuses it with a commanding header clear.
90+1 min: An explosion of relief as Leicester are awarded a freekick for a supposed foul in the box by Porto. The visitors are puzzled and no wonder: it looked like a couple of Leicester defenders were holding forwards rather than the other way round.
90 min: Leicester are knackered. They’re hanging on. Herrera sends a lovely ball over the top to Otavio, who’d made a cunning dash to the byline. He tries to head the ball across goal to Jota, but Schmeichel intervenes.
Leicester substitution: Gray on, Mahrez off.
87 min: Layun guides a nice path from the right touchline to Jota at the edge of the area. The substitute essays a flashy swivel-shot but gets it all wrong. Leicester breathe.
86 min: Leicester are clinging on and sinking deeper and deeper...
84 min: The irrepressible Otavio plays a wicked ball into the area from the left. Schmeichel comes to punch it away but Huth gets to it first and heads to the edge of the area. Corona meets the dropping ball with a terrific volley towards the unattended goal - but the shot takes a nick off Albrighton at clatters out off the post! Porto denied!
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Leicester substitution: King on, Slimani off
82 min: What a chance for Porto! Corona shuffled in-field from the right and spotted a dart into the box by Silva. He played a perfect pass through to the forward, who simply had to take it down and let fly from close range ... but he miscontrolled! What a let-off for Leicester, whose defenders were found wanting there.
80 min: The pattern is clear: Porto are attacking in numbers and with zippy passing, Leicester are defending deep and seeking to counter. It’s going to end 1-1 or 2-0. Or, go on then, 1-0.
Porto substitution: Corona on, Torres off.
77 min: Pressure is building from Porto. That one-goal lead is looking more vulnerable than at any other point in the game.
76 min: Herrera does exceedingly well to get above the ball and keep a 25-yard half-volley low. Schmeichel has to dive to his right to push it out for a corner.
73 min: After Drinkwater plays a slack pass, Slimani pesters Danilo into giving the ball back. Drinkwater tries again and finds Albrighton, who tries to pick out Vardy in the box but instead curls a cross into the keeper’s arms. Scrappy all round.
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72 min: Jota behind Hernandez down the left and charges into the box. Amartey, vigilant as ever, hurtles back to close the angle. Jota decides to shoot anyway and bangs one straight into Schmeichel’s mid-riff.
71 min: Otavio - Porto’s most inventive and dynamic players - jinks and darts down the left before firing in a cross. Well defended by Huth.
69 min: Danilo slips as he goes to tackle Slimani, so improvises to take down his man with his arm. The crowd bay for a booking - which would be Danilo’s second - but the ref’s feeling lenient. Still reckon there’ll be a red card before the end, though.
68 min: In this group’s other game, by the way. FC Copenhagaen are winning 2-0 at home to Brugge.
66 min: Amartey, who’s had a fine game in central midfield for Leicester, slides a pass through to Mahrez just outside the Porto box. The Algerian flights a dainty ball towards his compatriot, Slimani, who stretches out a leg to try to take it down at the far post ... but just fails to do so.
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65 min: Felipe heads high over the Leicester bar from a corner.
Porto substitutions: Herrera and Jota on, André and Lopez off.
62 min: Press from Porto. Leicester have some serious defending to do in an increasingly fraught affair. Their lead is deserved - but precarious.
60 min: Hernandez flings a mighty thrown into the Porto box. Under great duress Felipe heads it back to the edge of the area. Mahrez takes it down and cracks off a half-volley. Blocked. Drinkwater then has a go. Blocked again.
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59 min: Casillas pushes a 25-yard trickler from Mahrez behind the post for a corner.
57 min: Marvellous trickery from Otavio! With drag-backs, feints and shuffles, he outfoxed Mahrez, Drinkwater and Albrighton! It was good while it lasted but, alas, strength of numbers eventually took its toll and Otavio coughed up possession.
55 min: Tells skies the freekick into the River Soar, appropriately enough.
54 min: A weak header by Morgan puts Leicester under unnecessary pressure. Amartey rushes back to help out, but Huth compounds Morgan’s mistake with an off-the-ball foul that gives Porto a freekick on the edge of the area.
53 min: Albrighton bangs his own head in frustration at over-hitting a pass for Fuchs. If he’d got the weight right, the Austrian would have had a great chance to play the ball across goal for Vardy and Slimani.
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51 min: Fuchs fails to cut out a long pass down the line from Layun. But Huth covers him well and blocks the ensuing cross.
49 min: Danilo gets the first booking of the second half for a high kick that catches Slimani in the face. In terms of agility that was straight out of Fame!
47 min: Undoing the impression of a moment ago, Casillas puts his team in trouble with a panicky swipe at the ball. He’s grateful that his defenders manage to clear it for him, in the end.
46 min: Amartey rewards a smart Slimani run with an excellent pass. Slimani crosses from the right. It looks like it might reach Mahrez or Vardy ... but Casillas shows the confidence he lacked in the first half and claims the cross well.
46 min: No substitutions made during the break. Leicester get the second half going.
Half-time: Leicester 1-0 Porto
The ref blows for half-time just as Porto were about to take a corner, triggering more protests from the visitors. They can’t really argue with the scoreline, however, as Leicester deserve to be in front. But they won’t feel secure until they get at least one more because Porto have been nifty passers in patches, though not in the final third. And with both sides being given plenty of freekicks, there’s always the risk of a setpiece leading to an equaliser.
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44 min: Vardy gets away from his marker again. He’s found with a sweet pass from deep by Mahrez. But, not for the first time, the striker’s first touch lets him down and the chance fades.
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42 min: Mahrez hoists the latest freekick into the mixer. Casillas, almost visibly praying for divine intervention, accepts that he has to come for it and try to clear. Despite his obvious meekness the ref awards a free out after the Spaniard gets a feeble punch on the ball under pressure from Morgan.
39 min: Layun goes down wailing in a bid to get Slimani sent off. The Algerian didn’t touch him ... not until he walked over and pulled him up off the ground. Good thing the ref didn’t fall for that tomfoolery. Mind you, there has been enough clumsiness -to suggest there is a strong chance of a red card in this scrappy and increasingly tetchy match.
37 min: Torres curls a cross in from the left. Lopes gets to it ahead of Morgan but fails to direct his header on target from a difficult angle.
36 min: Oooh! The latest freekick - and there have been many so far - flies just wide of the near post from 25 yards. Good effort by Layun, who almost equalised for Porto against the run of play.
35 min: Excellent by Leicester. Porto can’t cope with their sheer speed, strength and verve, and the visitors’ previously tidy passing has become hurried and ragged. Mahrez latches on to a loose ball in midfield and flips it on to Slimani, who feeds Vardy. Porto regroup sufficiently to scramble the ball away. But they’re nowhere near comfortable.
33 min: Slimani booked for a clumsy trip.
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32 min: Vardy shrugs off Marcano and collects a long ball forward. He then plays a good low ball across goal, but just too far in front of Mahrez.
29 min: One thing that has been very clear so far is that Leicester are physically stronger than the visitors. They’re winning all the duels.
GOAL! Leicester 1-0 Porto (Slimani 25)
Slimani slays Porto again! A splendid plunging header from six yards after a lovely clipped cross from the right by Mahrez. Vardy tried to get his head to it at the near post but it was inches too high; then Slimani made sure he took the chance, showing more determination and better timing than Felipe to send a powerful header into the net! That all started, by the way, with a splendid crossfield pass from Albrighton to Mahrez.
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24 min: Mahrez curls a weak freekick into the wall - no wonder Vardy wanted to knock it down.
24 min: Vardy booked for pushing Otavio in the wall.
23 min: Freekick to Leicester, and a yellow card for Silva and Otavio for protesting. The ref could have booked three others for the same offence. Mind you, there were good grounds for the protest: the handball was never accidental. And Leicester now have a grand shooting opportunity, about 24 yards out and almost dead central.
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21 min: Fine play by Porto ... right up until the final ball, which was shanked behind the in-rushing forward. A good pull-back from the byline would have had Leicester in serious trouble after they were cut open by snappy passing.
19 min: Morgan climbs all over Lopes to win a header, and thus concedes a freekick in a dangerous crossing position. Layun curls it in right-footed from the left. But it’s a lame delivery. Drinkwater heads clear easily.
16 min: Hernandez reads a Porto pass and make a shrewd interception outside his own. He then bounds forwards into the opposing half, flips the ball to Vardy and carries on into the box in the hope of receiving it back. Vardy tries to oblige but his pass is cut out by a retreating defender.
14 min: Albrighton floats in a freekick from the a deep position on the left. Slimani slips his marker and sends a back-header at goal from 14 yards. Casillas makes a comfortable save on his line.
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13 min: Leicester, playing with purpose but also patience, are starting to dominate possession.
10 min: Felipe nods a Mahrez corner away at the near post. Good thing, too, from a Porto point of view, because the venerable Iker Casillas showed signs of vulnerability in the air from the long throw-in that led to the corner. Leicester need to launch in a few more to test him further.
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8 min: Lovely ball by Drinkwater out to Albrighton on the left. Hope Sam Allardyce the England manager saw that. Albrighton fails to beat the first man with the ensuing cross.
7 min: Slimani, a colossus in the air, flicks a header on for Vardy to chase. The England striker races on to it but his first touch is clumsy and allows Felipe to nick the ball off him.
5 min: Danilo escapes a yellow card for chopping down Drinkwater on half-way.
3 min: Mahrez is ambushed by two opponents just inside the Porto half, and Torres plays a quick pass forward over the head of Morgan. Schmeichel hares out of his box in an attempt to sweep up, but Silva gets to the ball just before him and tries to send a looping shot into the net from 20 yards while off-balance. It was a decent effort but dropped a couple of yards wide of the near post.
2 min: Porto showing a willingness to knock the ball around in the early stages and they are not shy about venturing forward. They haven’t made any inroads yet but they have prevented Leicester from settling immediately.
1 min: We have kickoff! Porto do the honours.
Here comes the teams. Leicester, looking a little nervous, march out in their familiar Tardis blue and to the familiar cheery din from their crowd ... but this time with the Champions League anthem, too. And it also becomes clear what those ropes from the stand are for: holding a ginormous banner of a fox on the hunt. Porto may wish their away kit wasn’t chicken yellow ...
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Apparently Leicester have some surprises in store to stoke the pre-match atmosphere: there are long ropes suspended from the roof of the stands and hanging all the way down to the pitch. Are the home players going to make the most spectacular entrance in the history of the Champions League?
“Is Andre Andre the only pro-footballer (current or ever) with the same first name and surname?” asks Andrew Benton. I can’t say for sure, Andrew. The only other comparable one that springs to mind is Morgan Morgan-Owen, the former Oxford and Corinthians stalwart who played in the famous 10-3 trouncing of FA Cup holders Bury in 1904 and won 11 caps for Wales before enlisting in the army, fighting at Gallilpoli, getting gassed in France and living to tell the tale. And what a tale.
Let’s take a moment to enjoy another look at the magnificent goal that helped make Porto European champions for the first time. It came against Bayern Munich in 1987 and was scored, of course, by Rabah Madjer. And tonight’s contest could be decided by magic from an Algerian, too, with Slimani and Mahrez a-conjurin’.
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Derby County chairman Mel Morris made some of his fortune from a dating website but that doesn’t mean he’s a romantic. So no point complaining that it’s heartless to initiate what seem like jilting proceedings against poor Nigel Pearson on the day the Champions League comes to Leicester, his old flame. At times like these even an experienced gaffer may feel like speaking to a senior figure from the League Managers Associations for moral support and wise counsel. Good thing Sam Allardyce is just a phone call awa ... oh.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to the latest instalment of the Amazing Leicester City Odyssey. Back in 2011, a few months after Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha bought the club as it loitered in the second tier of English football, Leicester welcomed Real Madrid to the King Power for a glitzy friendly and the new owner said he hoped his side would soon duel with Europe’s elite in proper, competitive matches. Everyone chortled. Then everyone’s laughs turned to applause. And now Leicester are about to host a Champions League group game against one of the continent’s most prestigious clubs, the two-times champions of Europe, FC Porto.
If Leicester win today, they’ll have six points from two games and one foot in the knockout stages in their very first participation in the tournament. It might also be their last participation in it, bearing in mind how their Premier League title defence has started, so this really is a time to savour. There’ll be merry bedlam in the King Power stands, that’s for sure. Leicester’s players will be inspired. Everything suggests that this tournament will bring the best out of them this season.
As for Porto, this country tends not to bring the best out of them. Despite their glorious history they have a sorry record in England, having never won in 16 visits (although they did get two draws, including one against Manchester United in 2004, which, funnily enough, was pretty much the last time Jose Mourinho looked happy at Old Trafford until Leicester turned up there looking all distracted last Saturday). If they are to improve on that record today, they will have to find a way of containing Islam Slimani, in particular. The striker took great pleasure in tormenting them when he was a Sporting Lisbon player. He has scored against them five times in three matches this year already, including once less than a month ago. After dropping two points at home to FC Copenhagen in their first group matches, Porto may approach this game thinking that a draw would be acceptable. If they take a cautious stance, it’ll be up to Leicester to rise to the challenge and plot or blast a way through them. Bring it!
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TEAMS
Leicester: Schmeichel; Hernandez, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Drinkwater, Amartey, Albrighton; Slimani, Vardy
Subs: Zieler, Musa King, Schlupp, Simpson, Okazaki, Gray
Porto: Casillas; Layun, Felipe, Marcano, Alex Telles; André André, Danilo, Oliver Torres; André Silva, Lopez, Otavio
Subs: Sa, Boly, Ruben Neves, Depoitre, Herrera, Corona, Jota
Referee: C Cakir (Turkey)
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