Villarreal Due In Leicester – When Europe's Elite Tackled The Foxes In Pre-Season
Ahead of that clash with the Yellow Submarine, LCFC.com takes a nostalgic look back to some other pre-season encounters, including notable mid-season friendlies, which took place in Leicester...
Leicester City 2 Atalanta 1
2 August, 2019
King Power Stadium
The Foxes prepared for the 2019/20 campaign with an assured 2-1 success over UEFA Champions League debutants Atalanta on Filbert Way. After being frustrated earlier on, summer signing Ayoze Pérez beat two defenders before slotting into the bottom corner with 61 minutes gone to score his second goal of pre-season. Christian Fuchs’ instinctive long throw then released Jamie Vardy, who took a touch and applied a cool finish into the right-hand corner, before Luis Muriel halved the deficit from the penalty spot late on.
Leicester City 0 FC Barcelona 1
8 August, 2003
King Power Stadium
Less than a month after signing from Paris Saint Germain, Brazilian Ronaldinho gave a demonstration of his impressive skills in an entertaining friendly ahead of the 2003/04 Premier League season. The European giants drew a then-record crowd of 32,086 to King Power Stadium for a clash that had a competitive edge - seeing Dutch international Phillip Cocu sent off after just 20 minutes. The star-studded visitors eventually came out on top, with Argentine Javier Saviola scoring the only goal of the game just before half-time to win it for Frank Rijkaard’s men over Micky Adams’ Foxes.
Leicester City 3 Red Star Belgrade 0
11 February, 1981
Filbert Street
Thirteen-time Yugoslav First League champions Red Star Belgrade made the trip to Filbert Street in February of 1981. The side from the former Yugoslavia arrived with a big reputation and faced a Leicester City side managed by Jock Wallace, who were fresh from taking the 1979/80 Second Division title. However, despite Red Star's impressive trophy cabinet, the team in red and white proved to be no match for the inspired Foxes, who ran out comfortable 3-0 winners, thanks to a hat-trick from Scottish striker Jim Melrose.
Leicester City 1 Athletic Bilbao 1
4 August, 2002
King Power Stadium
City’s 2002 fixture against Bilbao was the game that ushered in a new era of football for the Club with the grand opening of the new stadium, following the move from Filbert Street. Managed by Jupp Heynckes, who later guided Bayern Munich to the Champions League crown in 2013, the team from northern Spain boasted a host of impressive talent such as Spanish international Joseba Etxeberria. The match itself ended 1-1 with Leicester City Academy graduate Jordan Stewart scoring for the Foxes, who went on to clinch promotion to the Premier League in the season that followed.
Leicester City 1 Internazionale 2
25 July, 2005
King Power Stadium
The 2005/06 pre-season programme saw another of world football’s big hitters make the trip to Leicester to face Craig Levein's Foxes in the form of three-time European Cup winners, Inter Milan. Managed by former Leicester City player Roberto Mancini, the visitors also faced Crystal Palace, Portsmouth and Norwich City in their four-game tour. The 18-times Serie A champions raced into a 2-0 lead on the night as Santiago Solari and Lampros Choutos both scored past City ‘keeper Paul Henderson, before Chris O’Grady made it 2-1 from the spot after Leonardo Bonucci had upended Mark De Vries.
Leicester City 1 Real Madrid C.F. 2
30 July, 2011
King Power Stadium
Perhaps the most high-profile team to visit in recent years, Real Madrid made the trip from Spain in July 2011 to take part in a memorable exhibition match in the build up to the 2011/12 campaign. José Mourinho’s team included £80M signing Cristiano Ronaldo, former FIFA World Player of the Year, Kaká, Gonzalo Higuaín and Sergio Ramos. Sven-Göran Eriksson was City's manager. Spanish winger José Callejón opened the scoring for Madrid in the first half, before France's Karim Benzema added a second after the break, while Lloyd Dyer was on the scoresheet for Leicester in a 2-1 defeat.
Leicester City 1 Valencia C.F. 1
1 August, 2018
King Power Stadium
A youthful Leicester City side were held to a 1-1 draw by Spanish outfit Valencia at King Power Stadium in August 2018. Some fine attacking play from new signing James Maddison eventually saw the ball fall to Kelechi Iheanacho, who riffled a first-time shot past Jaume Domènech on 11 minutes. However, the La Liga outfit responded and it was Dani Parejo who was on target, as he calmly slotted into the bottom corner eight minutes after Iheanacho’s opener.
Leicester City 0 Celtic 0
19 July, 2005
King Power Stadium
In the week leading up to the 2005 Inter Milan clash, King Power Stadium played host to another former European Cup winner in the form of Scottish side Celtic. The Hoops were managed by the newly-appointed Gordon Strachan for the trip, who had taken over after ex-Leicester City’s manager Martin O’Neill’s successful five-year spell in charge of the Parkhead side. It was a game that City could easily have won were it not for Celtic’s Polish international Artur Boruc, who denied Dion Dublin from the penalty spot in the opening stages before again being on hand late into the match to deny Gareth Williams a winning goal.
Leicester City 3 ACF Fiorentina 3
10 August, 2001
Filbert Street
Four years before he brought Inter Milan to Leicester, a Roberto Mancini-managed Fiorentina side took part in a thrilling friendly fixture at Filbert Street that saw six goals. The stylish Italian had joined the Club in January of that year at the age of 36, but five games after making his debut against Arsenal, he left to take up the manager’s reigns with Fiorentina. It turned out to be a memorable match, with stars such as Portugal’s Nuno Gomes turning out for the visitors, but thanks to a scintillating hat-trick from City’s Dean Sturridge, the game ended in a 3-3 draw.
Leicester City 1 Borussia Dortmund 0
23 October, 1957
Filbert Street
City’s historic 1957 tie with German powerhouses Borussia Dortmund was memorable for a number of reasons, not least due to the fact it was the first game to be played under floodlights at Filbert Street. Floodlights in football had been seen as far back as 1878, when Bramall Lane played host to the world’s first floodlit match, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that their use began to spread throughout the English game. The Foxes soon followed suit and Dortmund were chosen as the illustrious opposition to mark the feat. City rose to the occasion, too, and ran out 1-0 winners, with Scottish striker Willie Gardiner netting the only goal.
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