Leicester 'rode their luck' against Sevilla but managerless Foxes should be fearful of what is to come

Perhaps the real theme in the build-up to the second leg should not be whether the away goal could yet tilt this tie in the Foxes' favour, but how might Jorge Sampaoli's side respond

Vardy's away goal handed Leicester hope but the Foxes should expect a fierce response from their Spanish opponents in the return fixture (Getty)

It revealed much about how relentless and resoundingly impressive Sevilla had really been against Leicester City that, as the players gathered for water during a stoppage just half an hour into the game, Kasper Schmeichel effectively had one simple message for his teammates: just make sure the score stays down.

The goalkeeper would have felt the force of that siege more than anyone, of course, since it was his series of saves that ensured the score at the end of their Champions League last-16 first leg was just 2-1 to the Spanish side rather than something like the 5-1 that would have been more justified. Schmeichel could be seen animatedly shouting at his players, taking the lead in setting the standard, even if he played that down afterwards.

“It was the same message from everyone, make sure the worst we go in at half-time is 1-0,” the 30-year-old said. “Make sure it’s not 2-0 and, if we can nick a goal, nick a goal. It was a tough first half and we rode our luck. They scored a good goal but it’s about the reaction from that. Previously, when we’ve conceded a goal, we’ve conceded another one. It was important to react well.”

The fact Leicester reacted with Jamie Vardy’s goal changed the tone of the game’s aftermath but, up until that strike, they had simply been too slow to react to what Sevilla were doing. The drastic disparity has undeniably played a part in Claudio Ranieri's sacking, although that feels all the harsher because Sevilla were just that good. The Spanish side were playing the sport at a much higher speed and, as positive as the Foxes all were, you could still sense how daunting they had initially found it. Danny Simpson gave a bit of that away with the simple use of words such as “a team like that”.

“They are a top team,” the right-back said. “You look at where they are in the Spanish league… it was tough but that was for every single one of us. From keeper to up front, everyone worked their socks off and you have to at a place like this and against a team like that.”

Schmeichel also reflected on just how much work Sevilla made them do.

“It's not [just down to me], it's down to all the boys. It's a monumental effort because we've come up against a fantastic side, a side full of momentum from their home league, third in the league, and it says a lot about this team we're up against. It's a quality side and we had to ride our luck at times but the away goal is massive.”

You also wonder how sizeable an influence that was on the thoughts of Sevilla. One of the notable things after the game was how down on themselves some of those around the Spanish side were. The feeling around their squad was that they had been good but nowhere near as good as they can be. So, beyond the finishing and a bit more sharpness in defending, how ‘good’ does that mean they can actually be? There were long stretches of this game where they looked awesome.

With the exhilarating way they executed Jorge Sampaoli’s whirlwind football, it does not feel an exaggeration to say they are the most exciting team in the Champions League since Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund.

Jamie Vardy celebrates after scoring Leicester's vital away goal (Getty)

Their football is genuinely that distinctive, that different, with that made all the more striking because it is from a side outside the super-club elite.

Sampaoli explained a bit of his approach afterwards by saying “we wanted to confuse our opponents a bit by getting our forwards to change positions”, but even that feels like an understated description for what was often overwhelming.

It was not that they changed positions. It was how players notionally playing further back like Sergio Escudero or Pablo Sarabia would suddenly appear 60 yards up the pitch bursting into the box in a way that far less mobile defenders like Wes Morgan couldn’t really deal with, and that made it so difficult to figure out exactly what their position was. If there even was one. Then there was the way a Stevan Jovetic flick would open up the entire half, the way Steven N’Zonzi would so effortlessly spin Leicester markers to keep move going, or the way Samir Nasri - so brilliantly orchestrating their attack - would pick out a pass that didn’t seem on.

Kasper Schmeichel's heroics in goal kept Leicester in the game (Getty)

In the midst of all this, they were so often powering crosses into the box with a fizz that caused chaos.

And yet, Sampaoli was also talking about how Leicester “succeeded” in getting the result they wanted. Simpson similarly spoke of how he noticed an unmistakable anxiety in the Spanish side when Leicester scored.

“You could tell with the fans when they got nervous.”

There was a panic to Sevilla at that point, most obviously when they desperately hauled down Riyad Mahrez on a break. That suggests a remaining inexperience in the side, a likelihood that they are still very much a work in progress.

Can Claudio Ranieri's Foxes pull off a shock victory in the return fixture next month? (Getty)

Sure, there is the copious European experience that comes from winning three successive Europa Leagues but - as is the club’s economic model - many of the players involved in those campaigns have already moved on, and very few of the current group have played too often together in Europe. It is only by doing the latter that you can develop a true team experience and deeper cohesion in these kind of games, and the remaining fissures became evident when the tone of the tie changed.

It doesn’t change the fact Sevilla still looked so good, were still so much better than Leicester.

Perhaps the real theme in the build-up to the second leg should not be whether the away goal could yet tilt this tie enough for the English champions to go through, but how Sevilla might respond now knowing that they should have won more. The away goal could yet rile them. They evidently have the potential to be even better, and that is really saying something.