Kasper Schmeichel pulled off a dramatic late penalty save as Leicester City sank Sevilla 2-0 on Tuesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, after which Claudio Ranieri was sacked as manager, Leicester scored through Wes Morgan and Marc Albrighton before Schmeichel repelled Steven N’Zonzi’s spot-kick.
It gave them a 3-2 aggregate win and continued a remarkable turnaround under new manager Craig Shakespeare, who has won three games in a row since stepping up from his role as Ranieri’s assistant. Unrecognisable in the defence of their miraculous Premier League title, Leicester have found solace in the Champions League and have now won all four of their home matches in the competition.
They also chose a good time to rediscover a bit of defensive solidity — and good fortune — having previously gone 12 matches without keeping a clean sheet in all competitions.
Sevilla, winners of the last three Europa Leagues, saw Samir Nasri sent off late on after he was shown an extraordinary second yellow card for aiming a headbutt at Jamie Vardy.
N’Zonzi might yet have taken the game to extra time after Schmeichel was penalised for catching Vitolo after the forward had dinked a shot past him. But the Dane redeemed himself with a save low to his left, thwarting Sevilla’s hopes of reaching the last eight for the first time since 1958.
The back-to-back 3-1 wins against Liverpool and Hull City overseen by Shakespeare had restored Leicester’s self-belief and the stadium crackled with anticipation prior to kick-off.
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