Vardy Keeps Leicester Life in Sevilla

SEVILLE - There is life in Leicester yet. Claudio Ranieri described this as the biggest night in their history, yet there will be another and there could even be more beyond that after Kasper Schmeichel saved a penalty and Jamie Vardy scored his first Champions League goal to allow them to leave Spain with vital signs intact.

“We had a very big heart,” the manager said. Down but not out. Well placed, in fact. Defeated, but with a vital away goal.

For Jamie Vardy, he also broke his recent goal-drought to give Leicester an away goal and keep alive their hopes of reaching the last eight of the Champions League despite a narrow first-leg defeat away to Sevilla.

The England international had gone nine games without scoring and was a peripheral figure for much of Wednesday's game but sprang into life to finish Danny Drinkwater's superb cross with 17 minutes remaining in Spain.

It was one of only two shots on target the Foxes produced during a game in which they were largely under the cosh and had trailed 2-0 in thanks to Pablo Sarabia's header and a close-range finish from Joaquin Correa for Sevilla.

Leicester other hero was Kasper Schmeichel, who saved a Correa penalty with the score at 0-0 and made a number of other good saves.

Sevilla also hit the post and bar had over 70 percent possession but will only take a slender lead to the King Power Stadium for the second leg on 14 March.

Sevilla knew that too and they searched for the third, which looked for a moment like it might open the door for Gray on the break. At the other end Schmeichel blocked Vitolo and Adil Rami’s header hit the bar. As the board went up, three minutes more, so did the chant. “Leicester! Leicester!‚“. At the full-time whistle they stood to applaud. Leicester are still here.