Foxes fight to the end but ultimately fall to Atlético 1-2 on aggregate

Leicester City bowed out of the Champions League in respectable fashion, holding last season's finalists Atlético Madrid to a hard-fought 1-1 draw at the King Power, falling 2-1 on aggregate.

The Foxes started the game on the front foot, surprisingly eating up the majority of possession and attacking the box in urgent fashion. Shinji Okazaki had a decent chance to open the scoring after Jamie Vardy pulled the ball back for the Japanese international, only for his shot to sail wide from 10 yards.

With that chance Leicester continued to press, only to be hit on the counter after an excellent cross from Filipe Luis found Saúl, unmarked, and left to head home a valuable away goal for the visitors.

The goal seemed to build momentum for Atleti, while effectively killing the majority of Leicester's hopes to get back into the tie. The Spaniards were given a couple lengthy spells of possession prior to the halftime whistle, but seemed content to hold the 1-0 lead as they casually passed the ball around the Foxes penalty area.

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Craig Shakespeare rolled the dice at halftime and opted to bring on Leo Ulloa and Ben Chilwell for Okazaki and Yohan Benalouane. The team came our guns a blazing to start the second half, pinning Atlético back and looking particularly dangerous down the left hand side. Chilwell had acres of space for the opening 10 minutes of the half and was given an excellent chance to grab the Foxes an equalizer after the ball fell kindly to him in the area, only for his half volley to sail just over the crossbar.

Chilwell did manage to redeem himself after a similar chance fell to him in the 61st minute. His low strike took a deflection off the outstretched leg of an Atlético defender and straight into the path of Vardy, who smashed the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-1.

From there it was all Leicester. In the 65th minute Leo Ulloa nearly grabbed another after a Christian Fuchs long throw fell to him in prime scoring position, only for his well-placed strike to be blocked on the line by an Atlético defender.

Not even two minutes later the Foxes had yet another chance to double their lead, after a crucial Wes Morgan clearance on one end led the team on a blistering counter. Vardy was once again in the perfect position to score, only to be denied by another goal-saving block.

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Despite a few more half chances, Atleti were effectively able to see off the tie and put an end to Leicester's Champions League fairytale.

Despite a sad ending, Leicester go out with their heads held high, outlasting the English "powerhouses" in the competition and outplaying last season's Champions League finalists. It was a great run for the Foxes and an amazing experience to be a part of.