FULL TIME: Sevilla 2-1 Leicester City
And that’s that! Jamie Vardy’s away goal has kept Leicester City’s Champions League dreams alive! Sevilla were threatening to run away with this tie. They were two goals to the good, having also missed a penalty, and were probing for a third. But Demarai Gray slipped a clever ball down the left to release Danny Drinkwater into space, and Drinkwater’s dangerous low cross was turned home by Vardy. And in one blistering 2015/16-style move, Leicester were back in it! They’ll now welcome Sevilla to the King Power with hope in their hearts. The second leg promises to be a famous night. We’ll see you for that one, won’t we? Yep, it’s a date!
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90 min +2: But from the corner, Leicester clear, and Mahrez goes scampering away down the left. With Gray free on his inside, Carrico has no option but to resort to the professional foul. A booking, and Leicester are very close to an extremely decent result here.
90 min +1: A lot of whistling as Sevilla faff around in the middle of the park. Then Mariano bursts down the right and crosses, panicking Huth into a sliced clearance over his own bar.
90 min: Albrighton makes off down the right, and very nearly slips Vardy clear. Just a little too much pace on the pass. There will be three added minutes.
88 min: Before the corner can be taken, Albrighton is replaced by Amartey. He takes a laughable amount of time to leave the pitch. That’s professionalism, folks! Then Rami rises above Huth and Morgan to slam a header against the top of the crossbar. Blimey.
87 min: Jovetic has a belt from 25 yards He’s looking for the bottom right, but his slapped shot is deflected wide left of goal. Corner, though it was nearly so much worse, as Schmeichel’s feet were planted, having gone the wrong way. Were that on target, it was in.
85 min: Sarabia has a whack from distance. It’s deflected out for a corner, from which nothing comes. All of a sudden, a slightly dull match has turned into Manchester City versus Monaco! This is a glorious end-to-end nonsense.
84 min: Suddenly, on the counter, Leicester are two on two! Gray eats up the turf down the left. He’s got Drinkwater in acres on his right, but opts to go it alone. He tries to drop a shoulder to glide past Mariano, but the excellent Sevilla defender isn’t having it. He puts a stop to Gray’s gallop. In the middle, Drinkwater allows a little steam to escape from his lugs.
83 min: But they can’t afford to concede another, of course. They need to finish the job. Sarabia, out on the right, curls a fine deep cross towards Vitolo at the far post. But the angle’s too tight to convert.
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82 min: ...and that’s because Sevilla are getting a little desperate, knowing this result might not be enough. They looked so comfortable for so long: a three or four-goal victory looked within their reach. But Vardy’s first goal in 46 years has changed this tie utterly. People have questioned Leicester’s mentality this season. Well, just look at this!
81 min: Vitolo dribbles with intense purpose down the left, and very nearly breaks clear into the box, but Simpson is tracking back and guides the ball into the arms of Schmeichel. It’s the Leicester fans who are making the most noise now...
80 min: Sevilla play their way upfield and into the Leicester box. Vitolo, on the left, slips the ball inside for Jovetic, who falls over on the penalty spot as he shanks a poor shot wide left. Jovetic claims a penalty, going over Ndidi’s leg, but he’s not getting that.
78 min: The resulting free kick is rather wasted, Fuchs having a dig from 30 yards. Nope! But Gray comes again, out on the left, cutting inside and looking for the top right. His shot is blocked easily enough by Rami, but the young winger has changed Leicester’s mindset, and carried a very real threat. He’s an excellent player, the real deal.
77 min: Leicester have their tails up now! Mahrez goes scampering down the inside-right channel, and he’s upended cynically by Escudero. That’s a booking.
75 min: Sevilla, shocked at the absurdity of conceding a goal given the context of this match, gift Vardy another opportunity, albeit from a ridiculously tight angle to the left of the goal. It’s blocked, but Leicester’s away goal - what a lifeline! - has transformed the atmosphere here! Whistles again from the home crowd. And what could this do for Leicester’s season?! The next 15 minutes are so important, for so many reasons!
HELLO! Sevilla 2-1 Leicester City (Vardy 73)
And out of absolutely nothing, hope! Gray slips Drinkwater into space down the left. Drinkwater reaches the side of the Sevilla area, and curls a low, hard, brilliant cross into the mixer. Vardy has timed his run into perfection, and smacks the ball home from six yards! Now that’s given this tie a new look!
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72 min: Mahrez crosses into the Sevilla box looking for Drinkwater, but Mariano rises gracefully to head clear.
71 min: Gray attempts to recreate his marvellous goal in the FA Cup against Derby County. Rami sticks a foot in the way just before he can pull the trigger. But that was a little burst of quality from the young winger. It wasn’t much, but in the context of this Leicester performance, it was a shimmering shaft of light.
70 min: Vitolo slips a ball down the left to release Jovetic into space. His shot-cum-cross slithers through the six-yard box; Huth does rather well to avoid making contact and running the ball into his own net.
68 min: Sevilla ping it around hither and yon. Jovetic breaks the steady rhythm by bursting down the right. The resulting corner comes to nothing, but this is looking very ominous for Leicester. They’ve got 20-odd minutes to hold onto a little hope. A third would do it for Sevilla, you’d think.
65 min: There’s a satisfied purr going round the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán now. An away goal for Leicester would alter the picture, of course, but right now that looks like a pipe dream. The visitors can’t keep hold of the ball.
63 min: That’s Correa’s last act of the evening. He’s replaced by Iborra. The first rule of showbiz: leave them wanting more.
GOAL! Sevilla 2-0 Leicester City (Correa 62)
They’re not so irritated now. And this was so simple. A long ball down the middle is brought down on the edge of the Leicester box by Jovetic. With his back to goal, he draws Huth and Morgan, who lumber into each other. Jovetic flicks to the left, where Correa is unmarked. Correa lashes high into the net past Schmeichel, and Leicester are in a little trouble now.
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61 min: The set piece comes to nothing, but Leicester do enjoy a little bit of sterile possession after their attacking danger subsides. For the first time this evening, the home fans resort to irritated whistling.
60 min: A terrible infield pass by Mariano is intercepted by Vardy, who finds Gray. A lovely shimmy works space for Drinkwater, who makes good towards the Sevilla box. His low shot is deflected and nearly squirts into the bottom left. Corner.
58 min: Gray comes on for Musa, whose last act of the evening was to run the ball out of play for a goal kick down the left, while in a decent position. Musa was dismal tonight; his lack of tracking back and closing down allowed Escudero the time and space to cross for Sevilla’s goal.
56 min: Correa jigs around down the left. His deep cross finds Sarabia, free in the right-hand portion of the Leicester area. Huth half closes him down, and it’s just about enough, Sarabia snatching at a shot meant for the bottom right. It dribbles harmlessly wide of the target.
55 min: Lenglet goes down holding his leg. He’s up on his feet again soon enough, but only to limp off. Carrico comes on in his wake.
53 min: Goodness knows how that Vitolo shot didn’t cross the line. Anyway, after that lively Leicester start to the half, Sevilla are hogging the ball again.
51 min: A nice, open start to this half. First Ndidi sends a fine dipping shot towards Rico from distance; a little either side of the keeper and Sevilla were in trouble there. But they go up the other end, Nasri slipping a gorgeous pass down the left channel to release Vitolo into the area. He’s facing Schmeichel from a very tight angle. And here comes Schmeichel’s first mistake of an otherwise impressive evening, as he allows Vitolo to beat him at his near post. He’s saved by his left-hand post, though: the ball clatters off the base of it, across the face of the goal, and away. Leicester breathe again!
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49 min: Mahrez, who has been quiet all season, wakes up and embarks on a baroque ramble down the right. He reaches the by-line, twists and turns, and tries to cross. The ball loops off a white shirt and harmlessly into the arms of Rico, but that is also a lot better.
48 min: Mariano has a dig from the best part of 30 yards. It’s overly ambitious and heading miles to the left, but takes a huge deflection off Correa, to the left of the D, and nearly squeaks into the bottom left. The excellent Schmeichel smothers.
46 min: Leicester have obviously been given a rocket by Ranieri. Vardy snaps at Rico’s heels, forcing the Sevilla goalkeeper into a hurried clearance. Then Ndidi steals the ball in the midfield and lays off to Musa, who has Drinkwater in space down the right. He really should make the simple pass, but opts to shoot towards the bottom left from 25 yards. His pea-roller flies harmlessly wide. But that’s much better already from Leicester.
Here we go again, then! Leicester get the ball rolling for a huge second period: an away goal would change everything. No half-time substitutions. And here’s Kári Tulinius: “This half gave me flashbacks to the early 90s when tactically insular English teams got outplayed by much more sophisticated European teams and the English side would have to rely on last-gasp defending and outstanding goalkeeping to even stay in it. Makes me want to put Screamadelica on.”
Half-time reading: It was raining goals at the City of Manchester Stadium last night. A cue for Nick Ames to recall some other memorable Champions League thrills!
HALF TIME: Sevilla 1-0 Leicester City
Mariano crosses deep from the right. Vitolo, six yards out, should get his header on target, but Simpson makes a nuisance of himself and puts him off. And that’s that for the half. Sevilla go into the break happy enough despite Correa’s missed penalty; they’ve been utterly dominant. Leicester have 15 minutes worth of hard thinking to do.
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45 min: Vardy goes up for Simpson’s long high ball. He nearly gets the jump on Rami. Nearly, not quite. He’s feeding on scraps.
43 min: The free kick, from a central position, is curled gently by Mahrez towards Morgan near the right-hand post. It’s telegraphed and easily defended.
42 min: But here’s a chance as Vardy has a short sprint 30 yards from the Sevilla goal and is clumsily upended by N’Zonzi. A free kick, and a chance for Leicester to load the box.
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41 min: Albrighton bursts down the left but eventually runs out of road. Leicester have done nothing up front at all.
40 min: A break as Escudero gets treatment for a bang on the head. He’ll be fine to continue.
38 min: Nasri swings one in high from the left. Rami is loitering. Schmeichel comes off his line to punch clear from danger. The next seven minutes are huge in this tie, perhaps in the context of Leicester’s entire season if we want to be melodramatic about it. Leicester certainly can’t afford to ship another before the break.
37 min: A loose pass by Simpson down the Sevilla left allows Vitolo to make good for the Leicester area. The Sevilla captain lays off for Correa, who arrows a low shot towards the bottom left. It’s parried brilliantly by Schmeichel, who has single-handedly ensured this hasn’t already turned into a rout.
35 min: A throw for Leicester, deep in Sevilla territory down the right. Musa flings it long, hoping to find the head of Ndidi in the box, but Lenglet nuts clear without fuss. It’s not much, but it’s something. And if Leicester can hang on until half-time, maybe they can make some running tactical repairs.
33 min: Leicester are struggling to keep hold of the ball. But Sevilla faff about in the middle of the park, easing the pressure for a little while. The home fans make up for the slight lull by giving it plenty.
31 min: Sarabia, on the right-hand edge of the Leicester area, curls one across Schmeichel towards the bottom left. The keeper just about gets a hand to it, though it only instigates a brouhaha in the area. Neither Correa nor Vitolo can get a clean shot away, and the ball bobbles out to the right of the goal. Leicester can’t keep on like this.
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30 min: Nasri chases across the front of the Leicester area, right to left, in the style of George Best. He can’t quite work an opening for a shot. But Leicester are sitting back, and inviting trouble.
28 min: On the touchline, Claudio Ranieri wears a furrowed brow. And no wonder. Leicester have made an unwelcome habit of folding after conceding recently. They can’t afford a repeat of the Manchester United and Swansea City games here. And right now, they’re chasing shadows. So much for that extra spring after the penalty miss.
26 min: Now it’s Leicester who need to clear their heads. Pretty much straight from the restart, Jovetic comes tearing into acres of space in the middle of the Leicester half. He has a dig from 25 yards. It balloons off the back of Huth, and nearly loops hysterically over Schmeichel and into the net. The Leicester keeper punches over the bar, and the resulting corner comes to nothing.
GOAL! Sevilla 1-0 Leicester City (Sarabia 25)
Vitolo nearly opens Leicester up down the left. His shot from a tight angle is blocked. No matter, as the hosts come again. Escudero crosses deep from the left. Sarabia, level with the right-hand post and 12 yards out, crashes a glorious header across the planted Schmeichel and into the bottom left, off the post. There was no stopping that!
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24 min: Signs that Sevilla have recovered from that brief post-penalty lethargy. They’re dominating possession again, pressing Leicester back. Touches for the men in blue are at a premium right now.
22 min: Correa zips down the right and pulls a low ball across the front of the Leicester box. Escudero rushes in and meets it first time, steering a fine sidefoot towards the bottom right from the right-hand edge of the D. It’s heading in, but Schmeichel’s reactions are superb and he’s over to parry the ball then gather.
21 min: Nasri chips a clever ball down the inside-right channel which nearly opens Leicester up. But Correa, chasing it, can’t keep it in. Goal kick.
19 min: Musa, out on the right, attempts to release Vardy in the middle with a very ambitious low, curling pass from deep. To be fair, it nearly comes off, but he was one on one with Escudero on the wing, and dropping a shoulder might have been a better bet.
17 min: Albrighton finds a moment down the left, and whips a threatening cross into the Sevilla box. Morgan, of all people, is hanging around up front, and very nearly gets his head onto the ball. Sevilla need to clear their heads after spurning that chance to take the lead.
16 min: Leicester, to a man, have an added spring in their step. Vardy causes a little bother with his buzzing around. Then Mahrez bursts with purpose down the left. He earns a throw in a deep position. Leicester pack the box, and the throw is wasted, but this is already a vast improvement.
Correa misses!
14 min: Correa’s earned the right to take the spot kick, but he makes an awful balls of it. A lame scuff towards the bottom left, and Schmeichel, guessing correctly, is able to smother with ease! An early blow for Leicester has suddenly turned into quite the boost!
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Penalty for Sevilla!
13 min: Mariano, who has been very busy down the right, crosses low into the area. Leicester can only half clear. Correa picks up the ball to the right of the goal, and is heading backwards when he’s upended by a clumsy Morgan lunge. A no-brainer of a decision for the referee.
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11 min: Mariano finds a bit of space down the right and whips low and hard into the Leicester box. Jovetic, on the penalty spot, tries to sidefoot powerfully home, but he’s hindered by Simpson, who sticks tight. Jovetic can only squirt the ball wide of the left post, never threatening the goal.
10 min: Vitolo goes on a wander down the left flank, and earns a corner off Morgan. The set piece is sent towards Nasri, six yards out by the near post. He flicks it towards the top right, and for a second it looks like it might creep in, but Schmeichel plucks it out of the sky, in actual fact always in control.
8 min: Leicester aren’t seeing too much of the ball. Sevilla are quite happy to ping it around the middle and wait for something to happen.
6 min: Fuchs goes a damn sight closer to scoring here, albeit at the other end. He stoops to head a loose ball back to Schmeichel on the edge of the Leicester box. Trouble is, Schmeichel doesn’t anticipate his involvement, and keeps following the ball. Fuchs’ header is heading straight for the goal, but Schmeichel adjusts himself in mid air, like Billy the Fish, and sticks a big hand out to gather. That was close to disaster. Schmeichel gives Fuchs the full $%^&*!$ treatment when he springs up, though it was honest miscommunication rather than a full-on howler.
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5 min: Up the other end, Leicester have a early dig themselves, though it’s a hell of an ambitious effort. Fuchs has a look from 30 yards; his shot flies 30 yards over.
3 min: Mariano Ferreira, N’Zonzi and Rami try to get something going down the Sevilla right, but it’s all a bit slow. No matter, they come again, and Sarabia turns on the jets a little to cut inside from the same flank, before sending a screaming dipper inches over the bar from 25 yards. Not entirely sure whether Schmeichel would have got back to tip that over, had it been on target, creeping under the bar. Maybe, looking at the replay. But it was very close.
2 min: Sevilla with more of the passing around the back. They’re in no rush.
And we’re off! The home side get the ball rolling. They knock it around the back for a bit. Vardy makes his presence felt by chasing around at high speed. Everyone just feeling their way into the game.
The teams are out! Sevilla, the Europa League champions, are in their white shirts with red trim; Leicester City, the champions of England, wear royal blue. The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán is pumping. We’ll be off in a minute!
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A cheerful Claudio Ranieri speaks! “When you play in the Champions League, the players are focused. It is a big match, and a big job, because Sevilla have won the Europa League three times in a row. They are strong, but we can show our football. Always I am positive, and I believe in my players. I believe this is the time we can come back. I would like us to score an away goal. Maybe we could also not concede one!”
Incidentally, former Leicester manager Martin O’Neill has just delivered, on BT Sport, via the medium of apoplexy, his take on Ranieri’s current travails. “Listen! Get the picture! They are playing in the last 16 in the Champions League! Leicester City! And he’s been responsible for it! He has earned the right to see this season through.” O’Neill was in full Not Having It mode there. He’s wonderful to listen to when he’s on one.
In case you were unaware, there’s already been some European action involving an English side tonight. Manchester United travelled to France to conclude their Europa League round-of-32 tie with St-Étienne. Jamie Jackson was at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard, and here’s the story of a 1-0 formality for Jose Mourinho’s men.
Also please don’t forget that Porto host Juventus this evening in the final Champions League round-of-16 tie. For up-to-the-minute news of that one, Jacob Steinberg is, like a pint of plain, your only man.
Some light reading, while we wait for the big kick-off? Here’s the latest masterpiece from the good doctor, Sid Lowe, who has been talking to Steven N’Zonzi, the centrepiece of this Sevilla side and one of the best players in Spain right now. So tell us, Steven, what’s it like to play under Sam Allardyce and Tony Pulis?
According to the chappie from BT Sport, Demarai Gray isn’t happy that he’s been left out of the starting line-up. In some respects, you can understand that: Gray is probably the only Leicester player who has enhanced his reputation this season, and has certainly shown excellent form in recent weeks. On the other hand, he’s 20 years old, he’s good enough to expect plenty of other opportunities to start in the Champions League later in his career, and like everyone else in this squad, he should have Claudio Ranieri’s back, after all the kindly Italian has done for Leicester. But that’s just one report, so let’s not pile on: perhaps the guy from BT Sport, who says Gray was “almost sulking” in the dugout, just caught the player in a pensive moment.
The hosts make three changes to their starting line-up from last Saturday, when they beat Eibar 2-0 in La Liga. Gabriel Mercado, Wissam Ben Yedder and Franco Vazquez make way for Mariano Ferreira, Joaquin Correa and the captain Vitolo.
Leicester City meanwhile make ten swaps from the side sent out to face Millwall in last Saturday’s FA Cup defeat. Only Ahmed Musa keeps his place. Perhaps it’s more relevant to point out that there’s only one change from the XI who disgraced themselves at Swansea in the last Premier League outing. Musa is in; Demarai Gray is out.
Tonight's teams
Sevilla: Rico, Rami, Lenglet, Escudero, Ferreira, N’Zonzi, Sarabia, Vitolo, Nasri, Jovetic, Correa.
Subs: Soria, Kranevitter, Carrico, Iborra, Vietto, Ben Yedder, Vazquez.
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs, Albrighton, Drinkwater, Ndidi, Musa, Mahrez, Vardy.
Subs: Zieler, Chilwell, King, Amartey, Okazaki, Gray, Benalouane.
Referee: Clement Turpin (France).
Good evening!
Leicester City first played Spanish opposition back in 1961. They were England’s representatives in the Cup Winners’ Cup, having lost that year’s FA Cup final to double-winning Tottenham Hotspur. Paired with Atlético Madrid in the second round, they were going well in the first leg at Filbert Street, leading through a Ken Keyworth goal, until Jorge Mendonça popped up with an 89th-minute equaliser. Atlético eased to a 2-0 victory back in Madrid, and that was that. The pair met again in 1997, Ian Marshall scoring Leicester’s only goal of a 4-1 aggregate defeat in the first round of the Uefa Cup. Third time lucky against a team from Spain, then?
You can be forgiven for not fancying their chances. Leicester are famously struggling at present, the champions of England in real danger of relegation from the Premier League having lost their last five matches in that competition on the bounce, scoring a grand total of zero goals during that sequence. They’ve also just been knocked out of the FA Cup by ten-man Millwall of the third tier. Sevilla meanwhile have been going great guns in La Liga, on the coat-tails of Real Madrid and Barcelona in the title race. They’re also not half handy in Europe, having won the last three stagings of the Europa League. And English opposition holds no fear for them: as well as seeing off Liverpool in last season’s Europa final, they did the same for Middlesbrough in the 2006 Uefa Cup final, and dispatched Spurs from the Uefa Cup quarters in 2007. They’re three from three in knockout competition against Premier League opponents.
Neither history nor current form is Leicester’s pal, then. But they can surely take succour from their performance in the group stage: they sailed through without fuss, topping Group G in a very efficient manner and only coming a cropper when they took the pedal off the metal in Porto, the section already won. Sevilla, meanwhile, may feel a little shaky as they attempt to reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup for the first time in 59 years. Could nerves be a factor? Leicester are looking to break new ground too, of course, but as underdogs they might feel they’ve less to lose. Hey, we’re looking for a chink of light in a dark tunnel here. Which is a sentiment Claudio Ranieri would understand. “Sevilla could be the turning point, it could be everything,” he says. “We can lose, it’s OK, nothing happens. But if we win, if we do a very good game, something inside could change. We need one match like this.”
So will tonight’s match at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán turn Leicester’s season around? Or will it simply provide more evidence of Sevilla’s superlative continental smarts? We’ll know in a bit. Kick-off is at 7.45pm GMT, 8.45pm in Seville.
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