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Champions League | Group Stage
Nov 22, 2016 at 7.45pm UK
 
CB

2-1

Okazaki (5'), Mahrez (30' pen.)
FT(HT: 2-0)
Izquierdo (52')

Leicester City progress in Champions League as winners of Group G

:Headline: Result: Leicester City progress in Champions League as winners of Group G: ID:285841: from db_amp
Leicester City secure their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 2-1 win over Club Brugge.

Leicester City have guaranteed top spot in Group G with a 2-1 victory over Club Brugge at the King Power Stadium.

First-half goals from Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez were enough to take the Foxes to 13 points as they ensured that they will continue their adventure in the Champions League after Christmas.

Success for either Copenhagen or Porto would have taken the race for top spot to Matchday Six but after their goalless draw in Denmark, Claudio Ranieri can afford to rest his key players ahead of the second round.

Leicester went into the game in the East Midlands knowing that a point would be enough to guarantee qualification, but they soon set about claiming a fourth win in five since their Premier League triumph last season.

After Jamie Vardy set Christian Fuchs free down the left with just five minutes gone, the full-back crossed for Okazaki to sweep into the roof of the net from close range to give the Foxes an early lead.

Moments later, Mahrez forced a decent save out of Ludovic Butelle from 10 yards out before Okazaki scuffed a volley straight into the goalkeeper's hands.

Club Brugge looked all at sea in defence and on the half-hour mark, Leicester were able to double their advantage through a Mahrez penalty after Marc Albrighton had been fouled by Dion Cools.

As half time edged nearer, Wes Morgan sent a header straight at Butelle while at the other end, Jose Izquierdo saw Leicester stopper Ron-Robert Zieler punch his curling effort away from goal.

The Foxes soon set about trying to net a third soon after the restart as Vardy flicked wide, but they were left stunned as Brugge halved the deficit through Izquierdo, who broke clear of Fuchs before lashing the ball into the roof of the net from 14 yards.

Vardy and Claudemir both had goals correctly chalked off for offside as the game began to open up but Brugge were starting to look the more likely to net a fourth strike of the match, and Anthony Limbombe should have done better after driving into the penalty area.

Ranieri had seen enough and soon introduced Jeffrey Schlupp, and the left-sided player should have scored within a minute of his arrival, only to fire straight at Butelle after leading a three-on-two counter-attack.

As the game entered the closing stages, Leicester were offering nothing in the final third and it was evident that they would sit deep to try to prevent Brugge netting an equaliser.

Jelle Vossen came close to applying the finishing touch at the back post while Robert Huth came within inches of diverting the ball into his own net as Leicester struggled to deal with corners sent in by the visitors.

However, as Brugge began to run out of ideas, Leicester should have made sure of the result in the 89th minute when Vardy teed up Demarai Gray but the winger could only shoot straight at Butelle from eight yards.

Gray then forced Butelle into another save in the final seconds but it did not prove costly as Leicester saw out the game to put themselves in a unassailable position at the top of the group.

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last updated article - 2016-11-22 22:27:17:
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