FC Porto 5 City 0
First Match Report by Colin Hall
Leicester City have enjoyed many adventures in this season's Champions League, and it is to be hoped there will be more to come. But their trip to the Estadio da Dragao in Porto proved an experience they will not be in a hurry to repeat.
The home side, needing a victory to be sure of accompanying the Foxes into the next stage of the competition, cantered to a 5-0 win against opposition who were outfought and outclassed in every area of the field throughout the entire 90 minutes.
With a busy league schedule looming during the month ahead, Claudio Ranieri made ten changes from the line-up that had started at Sunderland in the previous fixture.
As Barcelona demonstrated the previous evening, a select group of sides at this level have sufficient depth within their squad to rotate their personnel without adverse consequences, even against quality opposition.
However, as Porto proved – in the most emphatic of terms – City are a long way short of attaining that elite status.
Some of the players Ranieri entrusted with the task of keeping the Dragons at bay had struggled to impress in recent Checkatrade Trophy matches. So it was no surprise to see them flounder against far more accomplished opposition.
What will have particularly perturbed the manager and the Blue Army alike, though, was the pitiful performance of some of the more established players.
Skipper Wes Morgan, the only player to keep his place in the side, did little to suggest he will be lifting the trophy in Cardiff next June, while hopes that Danny Drinkwater would return reinvigorated and refreshed after his recent enforced break proved sadly unfounded.
Indeed, a player who some still hail as “the Leicester Iniesta” produced what was probably the worst display of his City career, conceding a second-half penalty and collecting an ankle injury which may delay his return to league action next week.
Nevertheless, there were a few positives that could be dredged from this most dismal of nights.
Midfielder Papy Mendy, returning to the side after an absence of nearly four months, completed the full game without any apparent ill-effects, while Shinji Okazaki produced his usual endeavour, which was more than could be said of many of his colleagues.
Demarai Gray also showed some useful touches, particularly late in the game, to indicate that he could prove a dependable stand-in for Riyad Mahrez when the Algeria winger departs for international duty next month.
In overall terms, though, the result dealt a further devastating blow to the already-fragile morale of players and fans alike.
Many of the travelling Foxes started heading for the bars before half-time and by the time the referee blew the final whistle to bring a merciful end to proceedings, more than half had already left their seats.
It is to be devoutly wished that when the next phase of this competition begins in two months' time, the team and club are in a better state than that in which they currently find themselves.
The manager must hope that his ability to motivate and inspire the players at his disposal, which has become increasingly under question in recent weeks, can be recovered – and deployed – during the challenging weeks that he and the team now face.
FC Porto: Casillas, Maxi Pereira, Felipe, Marcano, Alex Telles, Danilo Pereira (Ruben Neves 75), Corona (Herrera 76), Torres, Brahimi, Andre Silva (Rui Pedro 78), Diogo Jota Subs not used: Jose Sa, Boly, Evandro, Layun
Leicester: Hamer, Hernandez, Morgan, Wasilewski, Chilwell, Gray, Mendy, Drinkwater (Barnes 76), Schlupp (Albrighton 46), Musa (Ulloa 46), Okazaki. Subs not used: Zieler, Amartey, Simpson, Fuchs
Attendance: 39,310 Referee: Felix Zwayer
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation