Could Leicester City win the Champions League?

Maybe the title is comical to you, the question ridiculous. How can Leicester City win the Champions League when you still have the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City still in the competition? The thing is, if anyone is going to surprise the footballing world, would you really rule Leicester out? They stunned everybody last season by winning the Premier League title, despite being as far out as 5000-1 by the bookies at the start of the season.

This season they have struggled, leading to the recent sacking of manager Claudio Ranieri. A lot has been said about the nature of this sacking, how the players had allegedly gone to the board to say they were unhappy with their manager. Whether that is true or not, Leicester certainly played like a team with something to prove when they made Liverpool look like schoolboys, beating them 3-1.

A lot of attention has been focused on Leicester’s poor league form, and it seems like they have almost sneaked into the last 16 of Europe’s top competition. They looked all but out of the competition when they were 2-0 down to Sevilla, but Vardy’s goal gave them more than a lifeline. Leicester played as if they were animals finally let out of their cages, attacking Liverpool in full force. They played similar to their fairytale season, where they stunned the football experts by beating the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea to win the League.

Many pundits decided that Kante leaving for Chelsea was the key to Leicester not being that same team. Sure, he did a lot for the team, but he wasn’t the only player that excelled that season. It took almighty, heroic performances, week in, week out, from every player that pulled on a Leicester City shirt. If Leicester can play the way that they did against Liverpool, then you shouldn’t rule them out of Champions League success.

Barcelona need an absolute miracle to come back from their 4-0 hammering by PSG, as do Arsenal after a 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich. Leicester have got a very good chance of getting a win at home against Sevilla, meaning if they can get to the next round, they are only five games away from lifting the Champions League Trophy. With Champions League betting odds of 100-1 for Leicester to win the trophy, it might be worth taking a little bet. Having came from much further odds, it would be rude not too.

Most of the world would be hugely surprised if Leicester City can pull it off again, repeating history, but most English football fans will think like they did last year – ‘why didn’t I put a quid on them to win?!’ Even if they fail to win, they should be praised, regardless. What’s the worst that can happen?