Vardy keeps Leicester's hopes alive despite defeat to Sevilla

The defending Premier League champions were pressured by their opponents for most of the match and suffered a 1-2 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.

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Vardy's first goal in the Champions League was crucial for Leicester. Photo: Reuters.

Goals: Sarabia 25', Correa 62', Vardy 73'.

This is an acceptable result for Leicester, enough for them to hope to continue if they defeat their opponents in the second leg on March 15. Jamie Vardy scored his first goal in the Champions League, this away goal is the basis for the "Foxes" to prepare for a comeback in England.

Having reached the last 16 in their first Champions League appearance as Group G winners, Leicester brought with them the pride of an English side to the Sanchez Pizjuan. However, Claudio Ranieri's men were completely outclassed throughout the match. They had just 33% possession compared to the hosts' 67%, and had six shots in the match while Sevilla had 16.

In the opening minutes, Sevilla focused on attacking Leicester's left flank, which was defended by Christian Fuchs. This led to a series of mistakes from the Austrian defender, one of which resulted in a penalty for Sevilla in the 14th minute. However, Joaquin Correa was unable to capitalize on this opportunity as his simple shot was saved by Kasper Schmeichel.

Sevilla wasted many opportunities and faced difficulties in the second leg. Photo: Reuters.

The speed and skill of Sevilla's attackers left Leicester with no choice but to huddle together to defend against the opposition's passes into the box. The English side conceded their first goal from a high ball, something that is rare for Leicester even in the Premier League. Sergio Escudero's cross was excellent, taking out Leicester's defence, and Pablo Sarabia's header was also tricky, leaving Schmeichel rooted to the spot.

In the second half, Sevilla had a situation where the ball hit the post after Vitolo's narrow-angle shot. More than 10 minutes later, the home team doubled the gap thanks to Joaquin Correa. In this situation, Leicester's two central defenders, Wes Morgan and Roberth Huth, clearly showed their weakness in turning slowly when they were distracted by Stevan Jovetic.

Under pressure, Leicester unexpectedly scored a goal to reduce the score after a high-speed combination between Demarai Gray, Danny Drinkwater and Jamie Vardy. This goal was the England international's first shot on target in the last 380 minutes of playing for Leicester and his first goal in the Champions League.

Standing firm in the remaining minutes, Ranieri's team still had hope of progressing with the advantage of scoring an away goal. Not only that, as Ranieri said before the match, this result could be a boost for Leicester to end a poor run of results, which saw them drop to 17th place in the Premier League and be eliminated by a Second Division team in the FA Cup.

Along with goalkeeper Schmeichel, Vardy was Leicester's hero in this match. With the England striker ending his goal drought that had lasted since December last year, the Foxes' fans hope that he will regain his scoring form and help the home team escape the relegation race in the domestic league.

According to VNE