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Craig Shakespeare says Leicester City can be the “surprise team” of this Champions League, as his side sensationally beat Sevilla 2-0 at the King Power Stadium to win 3-2 on aggregate and get to the quarter-finals of the competition, in what he described as one of the greatest nights in the club’s history.
Appointed caretaker for the sacked Claudio Ranieri on the day after the 2-1 first-leg defeat in Seville, Shakespeare oversaw a transformed performance, where the Spanish side struggled to live with Leicester’s intensity.
Because of how the English champions overcame a side of such pedigree, who have won the last three Europa Leagues, the interim boss now feels they can go even further.
Show all 22 1 /22Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Kasper Schmeichel 9 out of 10 Made a superb early save from Nasri which set the tone for Leicester’s historic performance. Became the hero of the hour when he saved N'Zonzi's late penalty. Undoubtedly the man of the tie given his equally impressive performance in the first-leg.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Danny Simpson 7/10 His distribution left a lot to be desired – just under half of his 18 passes ended up being intercepted – but he made two crucial interceptions and linked up nicely with Mahrez.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Wes Morgan 7/10 Leicester’s captain became the first ever Jamaican to score in the Champions League when he bundled in the opener. Made several crucial clearances and appears utterly transformed from the player that was struggling so desperately under Claudio Ranieri.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Robert Huth 7/10 Put in a tremendous shift alongside Morgan. Although the thought of the pair of them trying to keep the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala is nothing short of terrifying.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Christian Fuchs 8/10 Fantastic. A real danger going forward, combining nicely with Albrighton, and he had two good chances to get on the score-sheet. Equally impressive at the back where he relentlessly pressed Vitolo, preventing the Spaniard from flourishing.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Wilfried N'Didi 7/10 Another valiant performance from N’Didi in the middle of the park. Got the better of Steven N’Zonzi and almost got the better of Vicente Iborra, too. Stayed in defensive positions and allowed Drinkwater to get forward.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Riyad Mahrez 7/10 Repeatedly cut inside from the right-wing where his passes in-between the Sevilla defence impressed. Assisted Morgan’s goal, and should have assisted a counter-attacking goal for Islam Slimani, but took too long to pick his pass.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Danny Drinkwater 6/10 Missed a fine chance to score in the first-half but ultimately a good performance. His passing could have been better, though.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Marc Albrighton 8/10 A superb performance from the left-winger. Overlapped with Fuchs nicely down the left, so much so that Sampaoli was forced into an early double substitution. Scored a lovely second goal, bringing the ball under control and rifling a low shot past Sergio Rico.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Shinji Okazaki 7/10 Did what he usually does. Ran hard, pressed high and never allowed Sevilla’s defence the opportunity to build their attacks from the back.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Jamie Vardy 7/10 Back to his industrious, tenacious, relentless best. Didn’t get on the scoresheet but kept creating opportunities for himself. Did well not to react to Samir Nasri’s provocations in the second-half, too.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Sergio Rico 6/10 There was little he could have done to keep out Wes Morgan’s header from close range. And Rami should be blamed for Leicester's second, not Rico.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Nicolás Pareja 5/10 Not a particularly good night for the Argentinian. Made several important clearances but his distribution left an awful lot to be desired. Too often passed the ball straight to a Leicester player.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Gabriel Mercado 5/10 Sevilla struggled down the right, with Albrighton and Fuchs both causing a number of problems, and Sampaoli responded at half-time by hauling off his largely ineffective right-back.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Adil Rami 6/10 Had been one of Sevilla’s better players up until the second goal, which he was at fault for. His headed clearance didn’t have enough on it and was directed straight at the feet of Albrighton, who promptly lashed a low shot past Rico.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Sergio Escudero 6/10 Didn’t look as threatening as he in the first-leg in Andalusia. Was incredibly unlucky not to level the score in the second-half, though, with an unconventional, dipping strike which rattled the underside of the crossbar.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Steven N’Zonzi 4/10 Typically good in the air, playing in the heart of Sevilla’s midfield alongside Iborra. But his passing left a lot to be desired and he looked uncomfortable in possession whenever pressed. Missed a late penalty, his low effort struck nervously and far from the corner.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Vicente Iborra 6/10 Calmer and more composed in possession than N’Zonzi. Won a number of crunching tackles and stopped a mazy run from Albrighton early in the second-half with a well-timed challenge.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Pablo Sarabia 5/10 Posed little threat to Fuchs down the right. Struggled alongside Mercado playing behind him, and was also withdrawn by Sampaoli in a bold double substitution at the break.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Samir Nasri 5/10 The good: His repeated running in behind Leicester’s defence and his range of passing. The bad: Stupidly picking up a second yellow late in the second-half for an altercation with Jamie Vardy before attempting to get the English forward sent off. The ugly: An incandescent Martin O'Neill slamming the Nasri on BT Sport for being overweight.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Vitolo 5/10 It tells you everything about the winger’s all-action performance that he made the highest number of tackles of any Sevilla player (5). Will have been disappointed not to offer more going forward, however.
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Leicester vs Sevilla player ratings Wissam Ben Yedder 5/10 Looked dangerous in flashes but was ultimately on the ball too few times to truly threaten. On the occasions he did shoot, he failed to test Schmeichel. Missed a sitter of a rebound in the second-half.
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“Well we know there’s going to be some terrific teams, as there was in the previous rounds,” Shakespeare said. “Sevilla’s record is there for all to see.
“We might just be the surprise team but we know the quality of teams in there is getting down to the real serious business now.”
Asked where this ranked in Leicester’s history, Shakespeare felt it right at the top. The club has certainly never got so far in Europe.
“I think it has to stand right up there because of the quality of the opposition,” Shakespeare said. “We knew when draw was made, people went ‘ooh Sevilla’, we knew what they’re about. It has to stand up there.”
As regards whether he had a preference for the quarter-final draw, Shakespeare simply stated: “no”.
The 53-year-old did pay credit to Ranieri when asked, but said that the win immediately after his sacking against Liverpool was key to fostering confidence of this continental win.
“Of course, we spoke before, Claudio will always be fondly remembered by everyone at this football club, for what he and everyone achieved.
“The performance in the first leg, when Claudio was in charge, gave us the springboard for tonight.”
So, however, did the 3-1 win over Liverpool.
Shakespeare paid credit to Ranieri after the 2-0 win (Getty) “The home win against Liverpool, you could see the confidence. Then the Hull game was very important, to follow that. We gained more confidence.”
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