Mahrez scores brace in Leicester win

The win was Leicester’s first in any European competition for 55 years and last season’s surprise Premier League champions could not have wished for a better start, taking the lead when Marc Albrighton seized on a misplaced header from a long throw to score in the fifth minute. 

The goal secured his position in the club’s history as their first-ever scorer in the competition, and their first in Europe since 2000. “It was some feeling, something I never thought I’d achieve,” said Albrighton, who has won a Premier League medal, played against Barcelona and now scored in the Champions League since being released by Aston Villa two years ago. 

There is no reason why we can’t win this competition,” he added. “People said we couldn’t win the Premier League but just to be this far is fantastic.” 

The game was effectively settled as a contest on 29 minutes when Mahrez curled a superb free kick into the net after veteran defender Timmy Simons had hauled down Jamie Vardy on the edge of the area. 

With such a comfortable lead, Leicester began to savour the novel experience of playing top-level European football and could have added a third before the interval when Danny Drinkwater rocked back on his heels and produced a stinging volley from outside the area.

The only sour note for Leicester was a booking for 29-million-pound ($38.38-million) record signing Islam Slimani for a push on the back of Bjorn Engels, which led to the defender falling awkwardly and injuring his shoulder.