
Leicester City’s remarkable debut Champions League campaign continued as they reached the knockout stages with one game to spare by beating Club Brugge.
The Foxes needed a point to move into the last 16, yet secured three to ensure they will finish top of Group G.
A smart finish into the top corner by Shinji Okazaki, after a fine cross by Christian Fuchs, set Claudio Ranieri’s side on their way.
Riyad Mahrez doubled the lead from the penalty spot – his fourth goal in five Champions League games – after Marc Albrighton was fouled by Dion Cools, before Jose Izquierdo hit a wonderful consolation after a 40-yard run.
Leicester City were unrecognisable from the side who have struggled in the Premier League this season.
They are the second English team, after Arsenal, to secure a place in the draw for the knockout stages on 12 December.
European delight for domestic strugglers
The Foxes are just two points above the Premier League’s relegation zone after back-to-back defeats.
Yet Ranieri’s team cannot stop winning in Europe. Incredibly, they have picked up more points in the Champions League than the domestic league this season.
While they have lost to, among others, Hull City, West Bromwich Albion and Watford in the league, Leicester have beaten Brugge twice – as well as Porto and FC Copenhagen. It means they have 13 points from five games in Europe – yet just 12 from 12 matches domestically.
Leicester City have won four Champions League games this season, but only three in the Premier League.
There may be disappointment that their run of four successive Champions League clean sheets is over.
Izquierdo’s thumping finish, following a terrific solo run, sparked a late Brugge surge and ensured a nervous finish, yet the Belgians could not force an equaliser.
From Glanford Park to glory
On this day eight years ago, Andy King scored the winner for Leicester in a League One game at Scunthorpe’s Glanford Park. The midfielder played the full game as the Foxes wrote another chapter in their fairytale rise.
Okazaki’s sublime fifth-minute finish sent home fans into raptures before Mahrez was denied by keeper Ludovic Butelle moments later.
Danny Drinkwater, Fuchs and Albrighton caused the visitors problems as Leicester turned on the style. It was Albrighton’s pace that forced Cools to concede the penalty, which allowed Mahrez to make it 2-0 on the half-hour mark.
Victory almost slipped away as Brugge fought back, and nervous tension filled the night air at the King Power Stadium as Jelle Vossen went close to equalising late on.
But the final whistle was greeted by the kind of roar not heard since the Premier League trophy was paraded around the ground last season.


![Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-300x200.jpg)





