For the first 75 minutes, this looked like being Leicester’s 2021/22 season in microcosm. For the remaining 15 minutes, it was a return to the Leicester miracles of the last six years.
It has been a deeply frustrating season at the King Power. After successive Champions League near-misses they have slipped into mid-table. They have suffered hugely debilitating injury problems. They have far too often been their own worst enemies. But this come-from-behind victory at PSV puts them in a European semi-final and gives them every chance of adding yet another chapter to the Foxes’ absurd recent history. And across the 180 minutes – and certainly these 90 – they fully deserved it.
They were so close to crashing out, though, thanks to a goal that could only have been more Leicester 2021/22 if someone had twanged a hammy in the process. Youri Tielemans is an excellent player but his slack error that led to the PSV opener is the sort of thing that is just starting to show worrying signs of entering “yet another uncharacteristic error” territory. He did the same thing in the second half and was lucky to get away with it. He could have scuppered the comeback before it began.
But in an adventurous second half, boosted by the half-time introductions of Patson Daka and Ademola Lookman, Leicester created a string of chances before finally taking two of them. And fine, well-worked goals they were too. A third substitute, Ayoze Perez, also made a huge difference to the threat of Leicester’s frequent attacks and it was his cutback that James Maddison fired into the roof of the net. It was a tough blow for a PSV side who had gone fully on the defensive and it always felt like a one-brings-two situation.
The second goal was even better worked even if it needed right-back Ricardo Pereira to apply the finishing touch after a fine save from Yvon Mvogo to deny Daka.
Leicester closed the game out nervelessly from there, and this was a game – and those last 20-odd minutes…
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