Much tougher tests surely await for the Foxes, but this was an accomplished, clinical performance in their first European outing since losing to Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Cup first round in 2000.
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“It was important to show the reaction after the Liverpool defeat”, said Ranieri.
Boss Claudio Ranieri had warned against expecting another fairytale but his Foxes were back in dreamland again in Belgium after Leicester scored twice inside the first half an hour. Maybe he is very exhausted of listening to dilly-ding, dilly-dong and prefers the Champions League music!
“It was some feeling, something I never thought I’d achieve”, said Albrighton, who has won a Premier League medal, played against Barcelona and now scored in the Champions League since being released by Aston Villa two years ago.
And Leicester now boast a two-point advantage at the top of the group following Porto’s 1-1 draw with Copenhagen, with the Portuguese side their next opponents on September 27.
There was little to suggest they would change after the break as record buy Islam Slimani, making his debut, began to threaten, although he was booked for a needless push on Bjorn Engels which saw the defender substituted with a serious looking shoulder injury. “If he doesn’t score I take the neck and crush the neck”, Ranieri joked.
As first experiences of the Champions League go, Leicester City are probably entitled to wonder whether it is always this straightforward. It is not, as they will no doubt discover later in the competition, but this was a hugely satisfying way to start their European excursions and a reassuring way to find out there is no need to be apprehensive about taking their place at the top table. “He was a lucky man”.
It finished with Leicester’s first win in Europe since 1961 when Matt Gillies’s team beat Glenavon in the preliminary round of the Cup Winners’ Cup and, for the current side, it leaves them in a position of strength as they try to add to the statistic that tells us, since 2002, only nine out of the 46 teams playing in the Champions League for the first time have qualified for the knockout rounds.
Unaware Ludovic Butelle had left his line to claim Luis Hernandez’s long throw from the right flank, Vanaken flicked the ball out of his goalkeeper’s hands and perfectly into Albrighton’s path at the back post. “It was good for us to start our story with a victory”, said Ranieri, whose team bounced back from a 4-1 thumping at Liverpool at the weekend.
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Jamie Vardy looked set to have a one-on-one opportunity of his own when he seized on a loose pass in the 29th minute, only for Timmy Simons’ late lunge to halt his progress towards the penalty area. “We have to perform better offensively and defensively if we want to win that kind of game”.
