Claudio Ranieri Hails Leicester

 

Claudio Ranieri says he is not surprised by Leicester's early success in the Champions League after they beat Porto 1-0 on Tuesday. The Foxes made it two wins from two in Group E after Islam Slimani's goal secured victory over the Portuguese side at the King Power Stadium.

He said “I am happy when I see my players play like tonight, with our spirit, I recognise this team when they play together, when they play as a team. If we play this way, I am not surprised. I am surprised when we concede three times from a corner on Saturday. Then I am surprised. I spoke a lot about corners and to maintain a clean sheet and my players tonight were very concentrated, strong and attentive in every situation. It was good for everybody after the bad defeat in Manchester. We showed a very good attitude, character and personality during all of the match. Also during the last minutes when Porto tried to equalise, we were very calm, very attentive and closed all of the space. I am very happy, It's the first Champions League match after 132 years for Leicester. Our fans gave us a lot of energy. It's fantastic. All the matches they push behind us. It was important to win against Porto because Porto are a very good team, an experienced team with quality players. It was important to score a goal and defend very well.”

The only goal of the game came in the 25th minute when Slimani headed home from Riyad Mahrez's cross to score his sixth goal in his last four matches against Porto.