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Schmeichel remains the brightest star in Leicester's flickering season

Kasper Schmeichel admitted after Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat at Sevilla that it felt strange. It was, after all, a loss on paper, but perhaps one that could kick-start Leicester City’s season.

And that’s all thanks to the goalkeeper himself, who made every kind of save to keep his team in the Round of 16 tie. Leicester scored a crucial away goal through Jamie Vardy to buoy the hopes of Claudio Ranieri’s side, although the strike wouldn’t have mattered at all without Schmeichel’s vital stops.

The Foxes can now look forward to the reverse leg on March 14 because of his performance.

“That is what I am there to do. You have nights like that. We knew we would have to ride our luck and we would have to come up with some saves. Everyone deserves credit,” the diplomatic Dane said in a post-match interview with BT Sport.

“We lost the game, that is disappointing. We certainly are not celebrating. 2-1 away from home in the Champions League? We will take that.”

Of course they will. This is a club that’s desperate for any kind of turning point in a season of utter disappointment. Ranieri made 10 changes to the side that lost at third-tier Millwall in the FA Cup last weekend, one of Leicester’s six defeats in its previous eight outings. Talk of relegation was no longer a fanciful debate: It was a reality Schmeichel openly accepted earlier this month.

One of the Leicester’s biggest leaders and most honest speakers, the 30-year-old again took the opportunity Wednesday to give his teammates a chance to reverse their fortune.

Sevilla peppered the Leicester goal in the first half and put endless pressure on the visitor before winning a penalty. Schmeichel gobbled up Joaquin Correa’s weak spot-kick and showed why he had kept four clean sheets in his previous four Champions League appearances.

The Andalusian club found a breakthrough in the 25th minute, and it could have ended the half – and the tie – with another two or three goals if not for Schmeichel’s interventions. He even had to sprawl to prevent an own goal from Christian Fuchs.

The defending in front of the former Manchester City shot-stopper was woeful. Sevilla whipped in cross after cross, and Leicester’s defenders, who last year were so good in the air, lost those aerial battles.

Then, the damage was done. Fuchs couldn’t defend Pablo Sarabia as he outjumped the Austrian to nod in the first goal. Robert Huth and Wes Morgan looked flat-footed and dazed as Stevan Jovetic controlled the ball and dished a cool pass to Correa for the second tally.

There was nothing Schmeichel could do on either play.

Yet neither goal fazed him. Relying on quick reflexes, diving to ground, and tipping shots away from danger, Schmeichel gave Leicester the platform to come away from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with some kind of hope. Vardy’s first goal in 10 matches was the least Schmeichel’s performance deserved.

In all, Sevilla fired 23 shots to Leicester’s seven. The gulf in quality was noticeable. Possession was 72 percent to 28. Sevilla’s pass success after 45 minutes ran up to 85 percent, while Leicester’s slumped to 58.

But Schmeichel earned his keep, which is not something many Leicester players, including reigning PFA Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez, can say for themselves.

Ranieri questioned his players’ heart and desire in last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to 10-man Millwall, which Schmeichel was not a part of. The Italian gaffer has not seen the same fighting spirit that propelled the club to the summit of the Premier League last season. Before Wednesday’s clash, neither Vardy nor Mahrez had scored since Dec. 10. It’s been dire for months.

Amid all the chaos, however, Schmeichel has stayed true to himself. The decay of the Huth-Morgan partnership has put more pressure on the goalkeeper, with Schmeichel making the fourth-highest saves per 90 minutes among Premier League netminders with 10 or more appearances. He’s the one player who can hold his head high during this historically poor title defence.

“It’s hard to emulate someone like your dad,” said Rio Ferdinand in reference to Peter Schmeichel. “But he’s up there as one of the best in the Premier League.”

It’s true even in Europe, and if Leicester can summon the courage to beat Sevilla at home and stave off relegation, there is one man who should take most of the credit.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

Soccer

Watch: Legendary 'keepers Buffon and Casillas embrace, swap shirts

Real recognise real.

Following Juventus’ 2-0 victory over FC Porto in Wednesday’s Champions League Round of 16 clash, iconic shot-stoppers Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas – two men whose admiration for one another is well-known – shared a touching embrace.

Related – Subs to the rescue: Pjaca, Alves lift Juventus past 10-man Porto

The Italian and Spanish greats have won a remarkable 39 trophies between them in all competitions over their illustrious careers, and, assuming both are fit, will likely take the pitch together one final time when the return leg takes place March 14 in Turin.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Soccer

Allegri makes his point, but Juventus needs Bonucci to make deep run

Paolo Bandini

58m ago

Reuters / Miguel Vidal Livepic

Perhaps Massimiliano Allegri does know a thing or two about substitutions after all. Juventus’ preparations for the Champions League visit to Porto had been overshadowed by a row with Leonardo Bonucci during Friday’s win over Palermo, which began when the defender tried to convince him to replace an exhausted Claudio Marchisio.

The dialogue between manager and defender descended rapidly into an exchange of insults. Bonucci would subsequently pay a steep price for his dissent. Fined and excluded from the squad to face Porto, he wound up watching Wednesday’s game alongside Pavel Nedved and Beppe Marotta in a director’s box.

Perched awkwardly on a stool in the corner, he could only watch as his team laboured through an unconvincing 72 minutes before snatching victory with a pair of goals from players that Allegri introduced off the bench.

Marko Pjaca will take the headlines, as the man who eventually broke the deadlock. This was his first goal in a Juventus shirt, something supporters in Turin have been awaiting impatiently ever since the Croatian completed his €23-million transfer from Dinamo Zagreb in the summer.

A fractured fibula kept him out of action from October through to December, but his performances either side of that enforced absence had also been unconvincing. Pjaca insisted that “scoring is not an obsession for me” during an interview with Tuttosport last September, but he had also failed to provide so much as an assist in 13 appearances.

Related – Subs to the rescue: Pjaca, Alves lift Juventus past 10-man Porto

By striding through to sweep an excellent finish beyond Iker Casillas at the Estadio do Dragao, he has bought himself some time. The unfortunate reality of life as a young player at a club pursuing titles is that you will only get so many chances to prove that you can contribute something concrete.

His goal, though, might have done even more to boost the cause of Allegri himself. This had previously been a tepid performance from Juventus, on a night when things ought to have been so much more straightforward.

With superior quality throughout the side, the Italian champion was at an advantage even before Porto’s Alex Telles got himself sent off with a pair of astonishingly unnecessary bookings. Having planted his studs into Juan Cuadrado’s heel in the 25th minute, he waited just 74 seconds before carving into Stephan Lichtsteiner.

His dismissal stripped away any hint of attacking ambition from an already cautious Porto team. Telles was a key weapon through the group stage, registering the third-most successful crosses of any player in the competition. If losing him was not damaging enough to the hosts’ chances of troubling that Bonucci-less Juventus defence, then the subsequent withdrawal of top scorer Andre Silva for a full-back, Miguel Layun, sealed the deal.

Porto settled back into a 4-4-1 formation, rarely venturing out of its own half, and yet Juventus looked for a long time as though it might lack the tools to unpick the host side. From endless possession the Bianconeri carved out the odd chance, but lacked tempo and vision.

The Bianconeri also lacked Bonucci, a man whose range of passing from the back often helps in situations such as this. It speaks volumes that the closest the visitor came to scoring – one wrongly disallowed effort aside – was on a Paulo Dybala shot which struck the post from 20 yards out.

Even Pjaca’s goal had a somewhat coincidental feel. The Croatian took his finish excellently, but the ball had been diverted into his path by Layun – that same player who only made it onto the pitch as a result of Telles’ stupidity. Dybala’s original through-ball was intended not for Pjaca but for Lichtsteiner.

Juventus’ second goal had a little more craft. Alex Sandro picked out Allegri’s second substitute, Dani Alves, with a cross from the left and the Brazilian chested it down before firing into the top corner.

Allegri’s point was made, his authority over this team re-exerted.

Juventus had not been been a joy to watch, but emerged with a 2-0 victory that leaves the Italian side with one foot in the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions League. Allegri’s men did it with their best defender watching from the stands.

Even so, all parties need to choose their paths from here wisely. Tougher tests lie ahead in this competition, and not every opponent will be so generous in reducing itself to 10 men (even it has happened already once this season, away to Sevilla).

Juventus’ hopes of winning the Champions League would look an awful lot better with Bonucci stood on the pitch, instead of peering down from the stands.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

NFL

DeSean Jackson ponders return to Eagles, eyes another six years

Washington Redskins receiver DeSean Jackson knows skeptics anticipated a short career for him, given his small stature. But, having turned 30 years old in December, and eyeing free agency in a little more than two weeks, Jackson is clear on this: He wants to play a while longer, perhaps as much as six years. And, yes, he’s thought about that happening with Philadelphia.

On Adam Schefter’s latest Know Them From Adam podcast, Jackson discussed free agency, a possible return to the Eagles and how he hasn’t yet lost a step. Jackson also spoke about what it means to have his son and how he thinks about his late father every day. It was the most I’ve heard Jackson speak about that topic, and it was interesting. You can listen to the extended interview here.

The question is, where will free agency take the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Jackson? There has been a lot of speculation about a possible return to Philadelphia. The Redskins haven’t ruled out his return, but it’s far from a guarantee — and, at this time, unlikely. Tampa Bay is a possibility, too, where he’d be paired with strong-armed quarterback Jameis Winston.

Besides wanting the best contract, Jackson said, “I would love to play with a great quarterback. I think Kirk Cousins is a great quarterback. He’s done some great things the past couple years as far as statistics. If it’s another team I have to go to, we know the business of the NFL. I would love to play with a great quarterback and take that to the next level.”

DeSean Jackson caught 56 passes for 1,005 yards and four touchdowns this past season. James Lang/USA TODAY Sports

The Eagles, of course, drafted quarterback Carson Wentz second overall last spring. They lack deep-ball threats, too. There’s a chance Philadelphia will pursue Jackson or Redskins teammate Pierre Garcon.

“I mean, it’s definitely a great story and ending, I guess you could say,” Jackson told Schefter of a possible return. “Starting your career somewhere and you go to a division rival and possibly maybe going back. You think about all that, you start somewhere and maybe you want to finish it. There’s a lot of speculation of a lot of thoughts. It all sounds good, but you never know until the final decision is made.”

But he does like Wentz.

“He killed it,” Jackson said. “He had a heck of a year. He showed he can do it all. He has the intangibles of being a big-time quarterback.”

But Jackson’s foray into free agency in 2014 was forced after the Eagles cut him. It led to numerous questions and much speculation about off-field issues. Jackson, though he would often miss volunteer workout sessions in the offseason with Washington, stayed out of trouble.

“I sit back and laugh about it,” Jackson said of the Eagles’ release. “I felt I was at the top of my game; I was blossoming. To be set back like that … that made me a little more humble. I came out and thought I’d be a first-round pick and I slipped to the second round. That motivated me my whole five, six, seven years in the league and then you have something like that happen. It re-motivated me and re-triggered a situation like, this is really a business. You have to hold yourself accountable and watch who you’re hanging around and watch what you post on Instagram. You’re just being a young guy, having fun and you work so hard to get blessed with money and accolades, but then you have the opportunity to sit back and reality kicks in. This happened, so how do you regain everyone’s attention.”

He did that with his speed. Jackson certainly didn’t appear to have lost a step this past season, when he averaged 17.9 yards per catch. He finished with four 100-yard games in his last six outings. He also told Schefter he could still run a 4.3 in the 40-yard dash.

That’s why he said he’s not ready for a switch to the slot. Someday? Yes — maybe.

“I’m not ready for that now,” he said. “I still feel I can play outside and play at a high level. Maybe if it ever comes to a point where you do lose a step [but] you have guys like Darrell Green who never lost a step. Hopefully I can stay at that level and keep all my speed.”

Jackson spent the last three years in Washington, averaging 19.03 yards per catch during his tenure — most of any receiver during that time. This past season, he caught 56 passes for 1,005 yards and four touchdowns. And he remains as confident as ever of what he can do.

“My mindset has been putting myself in the best position to sustain another four, five, six years in the NFL,” he said. “I still feel young and rejuvenated. I want to do all the things the right way. The past couple years I’ve proven I can still go out there and take the top off and be one of the best deep threats in the league.

“I’m not done yet, I still got another period of time where I’ll still give these defensive coordinators hell. I’ll make them stay up all night trying to figure out how to stop this young man.”

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