Leicester lost to Atletico because of unfair penalty

The referee blew the whistle for a penalty when Albrighton committed a foul outside the penalty area, causing the reigning English champions to lose 0-1 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on the evening of April 12.

“The first thing to say about the game-winning goal is that it was not a penalty. Marc Albrighton committed a foul outside the box,” Martin Samuel began his article about the first leg of the quarter-final between Atletico Madrid and Leicester City in the Daily Mail.

The controversial situation happened in the 27th minute. Griezmann rushed forward very quickly and collided with Albrighton right at the 16m50 line. The French striker mischievously fell into the penalty area, fooling referee Erikkson. On the 11m mark, Griezmann successfully executed to score the only goal of the match.

Albrighton committed a foul outside the box but the referee awarded Atletico a penalty. Photo: Reuters

This was a home game so Atletico took the initiative to push up their formation to attack. The team that has reached the Champions League final twice in the past three years completely dominated their opponents, holding the ball 68% of the time and making 14 shots throughout the match.

However, on a day when Griezmann wasted too many chances, and Fernando Torres played poorly, even missing a shot when he was very close to the opposing goalkeeper in the penalty area, making fans laugh, Atletico had to rely on a referee's wrong penalty to win.

Leicester were completely defeated on the attacking front. The reigning English champions did not even manage a single shot on target the entire match.

Coach Diego Simeone calculated carefully, arranged his men to stick closely to striker Jamie Vardy and especially used a large number of people to block the explosive Riyad Mahrez. Every time the star midfielder of the reigning English champions had the ball, there were always two Atletico men surrounding him, not even hesitating to foul him.

Leicester's attacking stars completely "lost power" on Atletico's field. Photo: Reuters

However, on the defensive front, Leicester played well. This was partly due to Atletico's strikers' poor form and their impatience in the final stages. In a hurry to find more goals, many Atletico players chose to shoot from afar instead of entering the penalty area, making it more difficult for Leicester's defense.

The 0-1 defeat gives Leicester plenty of chances to continue their fairy tale in their first Champions League appearance as they still have the second leg of the quarter-finals at home. In the previous knockout round, the reigning Premier League champions lost 1-2 away to Sevilla but then won 2-0 at home. Things are even more favorable for Leicester as they have escaped the relegation race in the Premier League, and can fully prepare for the reception of Atletico on April 19.

According to VNE