Monday, March 20, 2017

'It sounds good – Leicester City in the last eight of the Champions League!' - Christian Fuchs discusses club's turnaround on talkSPORT

Christian Fuchs says the feel-good factor has returned to Leicester City, claiming players were keen to prove critics wrong and that anything is possible in the Champions League.

The Austrian defender joined talkSPORT to reflect on the Premier League champions’ revival in recent weeks. The Foxes registered their first away win of the season at West Ham on Saturday to make it four wins from four since Claudio Ranieri’s departure.

Two of those victories came in the league, moving Craig Shakespeare’s men six points clear of the bottom three and easing the threat of relegation.

“It feels good at the moment,” Fuchs reflected on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast.

“Obviously with the last [few] weeks, four games and four wins – that is amazing.

“This is the momentum we were longing for and now finally we got our first away win. We did well defending and Kasper [Schmeichel made] a couple of good saves at the end of the game, we are very happy and I hope now many more [away victories] will follow.

“Obviously it was a pretty short time [ago] since Claudio’s departure, you can’t really change too much.

“We just got this one win against Liverpool, where we used all these comments against us to fire ourselves up and then we took this momentum. What happened after, with the Champions League game against Sevilla, confirmed we are in good shape again and trying to keep momentum for as long as possible.”

On whether Ranieri has been in contact since his sacking, Fuchs added: “Not personally, but I believe he is happy for us, he is a gentleman and that is how I got to know him.

“I believe he is honestly happy for us.”


Pictured: Leicester City __have gained momentum under Craig Shakespeare (centre), says Christian Fuchs

The Foxes booked their place in the quarter-finals of Europe’s top competition last week after coming from behind to beat Sevilla.

They were drawn to face Atletico Madrid, with the second leg due to be played at the King Power Stadium in April.

The achievement adds to a whirlwind 18 months for the club and Fuchs says anything else is a bonus: “It sounds good already – Leicester City in the last eight of the Champions League!

“It feels good, that night after the game was very special, not only for the fans but for everybody supporting English teams internationally and we are very proud of that.

“Who knows [what can happen], it’s written in the stars.

“I mean, we are in the last eight of the Champions League, who ever thought...who ever could __have pictured that Leicester would be there? We are very happy to be there and we will take whatever comes.

“The odds are probably better than winning the Premier League last season, no?

“We are not going to expect anything, just keeping our belief and simply enjoying like we did last season, the moment and the spirit we have right now. With a little bit of luck let’s see where we can end up.”

Listen to Christian Fuchs on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, in full, above as he discusses Craig Shakespeare, the momentum at Leicester City and more...