Kasper Schmeichel was the Leicester City hero ... again
Leicester's season has gone horribly. For most of it, Jamie Vardy couldn't score, Riyad Mahrez was invisible, the combination of Wes Morgan and Robert Huth looked old and nobody else really stepped up. But through it all, one man shone bright -- Kasper Schmeichel. An absence for a broken hand excepted, Schmeichel was terrific from the start and as bad as things were going for the Foxes, dropping into the relegation race, he was the one man they could count on.
So it's no surprise that in the Champions League round of 16, a stage they made despite their struggles in the Premier League, it was Schmeichel who was their hero. He was better than ever before and almost single-handedly sent them onto the quarterfinals.
In the first leg, Leicester were outplayed from the start. They could have been down four or five goals by halftime, but they weren't because of Schmeichel. It's hard to overstate just how badly the Foxes were beaten at the start of the tie. It should have been over right there and then, but Schmeichel was simply superb. A late goal sent the Foxes back home for the second leg feeling pretty good, but that was only possible because of the work Schmeichel did earlier, saving a penalty and repeatedly denying a dominant Sevilla team.
The second leg was better for Leicester, but they only had a chance because of their goalkeeper's work in the previous leg. And even then, the Foxes still needed Schmeichel to come to their rescue back at home. Even up a man after Samir Nasri was shown a red card, Leicester managed to concede chances and even a penalty kick. But when Steven N'Zonzi stepped to the take his spot kick that would have sent the tie to extra time, Schmeichel made the save. Once again, he saved Leicester.
The talk about Leicester's recent turnaround, and their shock trip to the Champions League quarterfinals, will undoubtedly focus on what's changed. After all, the Foxes were floundering and probably on their way to relegation until they sacked Claudio Ranieri and replaced him with Craig Shakespeare. The resurgence of Vardy, who scored in the first leg, can't be overlooked. Nor can Mahrez's revival, their dominance in the air, Marc Albrighton being the unlikeliest of heroes, or the remarkable ability to convince teams that they should whip in cross after cross to beat them. After all, Shakespeare has all but brought back the Leicester of last season and that's a hell of a story.
But the man who really stole the spotlight wasn't Shakespeare or even the Foxes who found their form of old. It was Schmeichel.
The one player who has shone all season, so dependable that saving a pair of penalties over two legs and making a handful of other terrific saves didn't even warrant astonishment. It's just what he does and there will undoubtedly be speculation that next season he will be doing it for another club (Manchester City?). But for now, he is a Leicester man, a reigning Premier League champion and the goalkeeper who put the Foxes in the Champions League quarterfinals.
