Premier League champions, Leicester City travelled to Spain where they met the mighty Atletico Madrid last night. Though no one had given the Foxes any kind of hope to spring a positive result at the Vicente Calderon, Leicester did well to stay in the hunt as they lost out just 1-0 against an in-form Atletico side. Antoine Griezmann got on the scoresheet but the goal came in a rather dubious way.
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Marc Albrighton had fouled the Frenchman but the impact of the foul was clearly out of the box. Referee Jonas Eriksson, however, blew the whistle for a spot kick which broke the heart of the travelling Leicester supporters. After conceding, the visitors did well not to let in any more goals as they effectively took the tie to the King Power stadium.
On that note, here are the five talking points from a David and Goliath clash in the UEFA Champions League.
#1 Leicester missed their captain fantastic
Wes Morgan has been a crucial player in the Foxes' rise since the last season and despite his shortcomings, the robust defender has done well in Europe. Leicester suffered a huge blow when it became clear that Morgan will not be travelling to Spain as he was left back in England to recuperate. He is out with a back problem which has seen him miss the last four games.
Yohan Benalouane came into the starting lineup in Morgan's absence and did decently against a pacy Atletico Madrid attacking unit. He had previously struggled in Leicester's last league game against Everton but rose to the occasion in fine fashion. Despite all this, the leadership of Morgan was the catalyst in many of Leicester's victories last season as they missed their captain playing at the back against Diego Simeone's side.
#2 Antoine Griezmann rises to the occasion
A lot has been said about the Frenchman's future at the club with the player himself stating numerous times of his desire to stay put with the Colchoneros. Yet the rumour mongers have linked him with Manchester United in the past few months with the Red Devils reportedly having Griezmann as their top summer target.
He justified all the hype around him as he won the penalty - although doubtful, and calmly slotted it home. It was evident that if Leicester wanted anything out of this game, they would have to keep Griezmann quiet. However, they failed to do so as the 26-year-old sent Kasper Schmeichel the wrong way. The Dane had saved two penalties in the previous games against Sevilla but failed to judge Griezmann's effort correctly as he scored his 24th goal of the season.
#3 Robert Huth’s yellow card can come back to haunt Leicester
When Antoine Griezmann blazed past Huth in the 58th minute of the game, the towering centre-back pulled him back to stop the Frenchman from inflicting more damage on his side. The referee showed him a yellow card which meant that Huth will miss the second leg with a suspension.
It is a big blow to Leicester as they have already been without Wes Morgan in their starting eleven. If their captain fails to play the second leg, Leicester will be without their usual central pair at the heart of the defence. This could just prove to be the turning point of the tie.
Thankfully for Craig Shakespeare, the likes of Wilfred Ndidi, Islam Slimani and Jamie Vardy who were also just one booking away from suspension endured the game without getting a caution.
#4 Atletico Madrid keen to give Vicente Calderon a farewell to remember
After spending 50 years at the Calderon, the Madrid club is set to move to the north of the city next season. A former athletics stadium has been turned into a state of the art stadium which will give Atletico added revenue and will place them on the list of most important football stadiums in the world. The new stadium which is going to be named "Park Atletico Madrid" will have special lights on the roof which will make the ground change colour.
Diego Simeone has won everything in his tenure with the club and now, only a Champions League trophy eludes him. After a La Liga crown and a Europa League win, the Argentine mastermind wants to leave Vicente Calderon in the best possible way by winning the most coveted competition of all.
Atletico have reached two finals under Simeone but both times tasted defeat at the hands of rivals, Real Madrid. This time Simeone and co. wants to change that and give their 55,000 seated home a farewell season to remember.
#5 Shakespeare impresses in his biggest test yet
After the sacking of Claudio Ranieri, Shakespeare has effectively taken over the reigns and stabilised the club. The spark in Leicester's play has returned which had gone missing in Ranieri's last few months at the club. Coming into last night's game, the manager had done well both in the league and in Europe as he secured notable league wins over the likes of Everton, Liverpool and West Ham United while also winning a two-legged knockout tie against Sevilla.
But last night it was Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid who are considered as one of the best in the business when it comes to churning out a result in the hardest crucial knockout ties. Shakespeare wasn't fazed by the occasion as his side defended resolutely against an incessant Atletico side.
At one point, Leicester were cramped in their own box for a good 12 minutes but they never seemed to have lost hope. The former assistant manager also made a tactical switch in the second half as he replaced Shinji Okazaki with Andy King to give Riyadh Mahrez more freedom in a central position.
