The Leicester City fairytale in Europe is over, but not before the Foxes put up a valiant fight at the King Power Stadium, as they went down 1-2 on aggregate. Saul Niguez’s goal midway through the first half meant that Leicester had to score three goals to go through.
Against a defense as well-drilled and as compact as Atletico’s, that was always going to be a bridge too far for Craig Shakespeare’s side.
In the end, the Foxes did not crumble like a lot of people expected them to, and they finished this season’s Champions League as the English side to have progressed the furthest in the tournament, a commendable effort given that it was their first ever appearance in Europe’s premier club competition.
Here are the major talking points from last night’s game.
#1 Leicester can be proud
While it lasted, the Leicester fairytale was scarcely believable. From August 2015 to April 2017, they captivated the world, by showing that nothing can be left unconquered in football. Claudio Ranieri might be gone now, but he would have been so proud of what Leicester achieved and the way they played last night.
Last night, it was Ranieri’s Leicester on show – togetherness, belief and importantly, unwavering hardwork. From Kasper Schmeichel to Jamie Vardy, Leicester last night were the Leicester that won the Premier League last season.
Jamie Vardy does what he always seems to do, and poached a goal in the 61st minute to give Leicester hope of writing another chapter in that fairytale, but it was not to be.
For a team that on April 1st, 2015, was at the bottom of the Premier League table, “meteoric” would not do justice to this ascent of Leicester City. They have not had the greatest Premier League campaign this year, but why will Leicester fans care?
2015-16 was their season and they would not swap anything for that. Would they have swapped anything for trips to Seville and Madrid to watch their team play the Champions League knockouts, maybe not too.
The odyssey is over and football fans can only thank and admire Leicester for that. The grit, determination and togetherness in that squad will be hard to match for any other side that were where Leicester were, 21 months ago, when they set out on this incredible journey.
Also Read: Atletico coach Simeone pays tribute to dogged Leicester
#2 Atletico’s know-how and experience proves too much
When Vardy pulled a goal back for Leicester, it would have been very easy for the opposition to panic. The crowd had just dragged the decibel levels up a few notches and the Leicester players were going to feed off that. But Atletico did not panic. Diego Simeone’s side know their strengths a little too well, and they stuck to those.
Unlike Sevilla who collapsed at the King Power Stadium in the Round of 16, Atletico are a team built on a solid spine. Diego Godin and Stefan Savic were never going to be breached three times, especially with Gabi sitting in front of them and snuffing out Leicester attacks.
The start of the game saw Atleti allow Leicester to have the ball and just stay in their defensive shape. When they did have the ball, they slowed the game down and took the sting out of it. Midway through the first half, they struck the killer blow. A terrific team goal too, it was.
They got up the field quickly, and when the ball fell to Filipe Luis, you still felt Leicester had enough bodies in the box to deal with what the Brazilian delivered. But what he delivered was inch perfect for Saul. The young Spaniard barely had to get off his feet to head it, and what a header it was too!
It was a textbook header as Saul headed it across the goal from the back-post and gave Schmeichel no chance. That goal effectively killed off Leicester’s chances, despite all the pluck and fight they showed after that.
#3 Leicester’s own ‘Captain, Leader, Legend’
Wes Morgan had not played any competitive football since the second leg against Sevilla last month. So, it was going to be a tough night for him on his comeback, up against Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco and Antoine Griezmann. What made Morgan’s task a little more difficult was the absence of his partner-in-crime, Robert Huth.
The match didn’t start too well for the Jamaican, as he looked jittery and uncertain. That was exemplified when he played a short back pass to Schmeichel, which the Dane sorted out. That could have set a dangerous precedent for the rest of the night, but Morgan ensured that it did not happen.
He was never going to keep up with the pace of Carrasco and Griezmann but that is where his experience came into play. Morgan took up terrific starting positions and mostly caught the two Atleti attackers before they could hit full throttle.
One big example came immediately after he played that uncertain pass to Schmeichel. Carrasco was just about in full flight, and Morgan slid in to stop the Belgian from going any further. It was a tackle he had to get right if he wasn’t to be booked.
That set the tone for Morgan and he regained his confidence after that. He thoroughly deserved the standing ovation he got from the fans when injury forced him off the field in the 84th minute.
Morgan has been at the heart of this Leicester story, at both ends of the pitch. His defensive work has been exemplary, but he has also scored a few priceless goals for Leicester in the process.
#4 The tale of two brilliant youngsters
Wilfred Ndidi is 20. Saul Niguez is 22. In the next few years, both of them could have the footballing world at their feet. Saul is such a good all-round attacking player, but it is his dirty work that sets him apart from a lot of other players in his position.
He announced himself on the big stage with THAT goal against Bayern Munich in the semifinal of last year’s Champions League, and he has gone on to improve further this season. The header last night was textbook and showed how good his technical ability is. But a few minutes later, he could have bettered that too.
He received a pull back from Filipe Luis on the left side edge of the area and unleashed a left-footed curler, that Schmeichel managed to deal with. But to get such sweet contact and meet the ball so perfectly with your wrong foot requires some special ability and Saul has that ability.
Ndidi though, ensured that he would not be left too far behind. He is two years younger than Saul, and like the Spaniard, precociously talented. When Ndidi arrived at Leicester in January, it was clear that the Foxes had not yet replaced N’Golo Kante and the Nigerian was going to be the one to do that. No pressure, Wilfred!
But he has stepped up magnificently, especially after Shakespeare took over from Ranieri. He has everything a defensive midfielder needs to have. His passing is assured and crisp, his defensive positioning is terrific and he has got the confidence to take on shots from distance, although some of them last night were a little too ambitious.
For Ndidi and Saul, their only real enemies are themselves. If they keep improving like they are touted to, they will be among the best players in the world very soon.
#5 Third time lucky for Atletico?
In the last three seasons, Atleti reached two Champions League finals, only to lose out to their city rivals Real on both occasions. Once again, their progress to the semifinal has been smooth and serene but Diego Simeone knows that this season, it is time to make that step up and become champions of Europe.
The Atleti template for success has not changed at all. It is built on having a solid defense that barely gives away goals, and then using the pace of Carrasco and Griezmann on the break. It sounds fairly simple, but to do it as well as Atletico do it, takes an immense amount of skill and concentration.
Real are still there, after a contentious win over Bayern Munich, put them through to the semifinal. But, for Atletico at the stage they are, they will not fear any team left in the competition. They know their strengths and will play to those.
They will respect whoever the opposition is, no doubt, but Simeone has always stressed that his side are never over-awed by any occasion. Can they break the hoodoo and raise Simeone’s stock as a manager even further?
