Slavia Prague secured their place in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 by shocking Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
The hosts underwhelmed through the majority of the tie and found themselves behind just after the break as Lukas Provod finished coolly at the back post.
It then got even better for the Czech champions with just over ten minutes to go. Abdallah Sima picked up the ball outside of the penalty area and smashed in a stunning strike to book Slavia's progression to the next round, sealing one of the club's most memorable results in their history.
Story of the Match
Early chances
Needing to win the game in order to progress following a stalemate in Prague last week, Leicester's intent in the early stages was impressive. Caglar Soyuncu and Cengiz Under both had efforts on goal, with the latter testing Slavia goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar. Marc Albrighton then had a slight opening after latching onto a clever through-ball but his shot lacked any real power.
The hosts' promising start was just that though - a start - as the visitors grew into the game. Teenage forward Sima had the first chance for the hosts, picking up on a loose header from Soyuncu and placing his effort just wide of goal. Jan Kuchta also had a brilliant opportunity to give the Czech champions the lead but could only divert Alexander Bah's cross wide.
Away goal for Slavia
Leicester really struggled throughout the majority of the first-half and their task got even more difficult right at the start of the second period as Slavia took the lead. Great forward play from the visitors saw Nicolae Stanciu gifted plenty of room to whip a ball into the box. Provod was waiting at the far post and powered home a great finish, leaving Leicester needing two goals to progress.
Tie sealed late on
Having fallen behind, a Leicester reaction might have been expected but quite the opposite occurred. Slavia appeared to get even stronger and doubled their lead through the electric Sima. The Senegalese picked up the ball 20 yards from goal and tried his luck, with his shot then nestling in the bottom corner and giving the Foxes an even bigger mountain to climb.
In the end, Brendan Rodgers' men just did not have enough and with a tepid performance, saw their Europa League journey ended.
Takeaways
Slavia claim another scalp
Europa League quarter-finalists during the 2018/19 season, Slavia look a great bet to muscle-in once again. Over the two legs, Jindřich Trpišovský's were by far the better side and deservedly progressed. The two goals that they netted at the King Power Stadium were well-constructed, whilst they also defended extremely well over both games.
Lack of threat for Leicester
Whilst the Czechs deserve huge praise for eliminating the Foxes, they were hugely helped by a real lack of quality in the Leicester ranks. But for the first ten minutes of the game at the King Power Stadium, the East-Midlanders were easily kept at arms' length as they struggled to generate any meaningful attacks. Over the two matches, they only had four shots on target which is poor for a side who have usually been exhilarating in forward areas.
Refocus?
There are really not many positives to take out of this defeat for Leicester. However, one crumb of comfort is that fixture congestion will not be too much of a problem for the Foxes now. Still in the FA Cup and also competing for a place in the UEFA Champions League, the strain on the squad will now be released, surely positive news on the injury front.