- Leicester City defeated PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday
- James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira struck in the Netherlands to seal a place in the semi-finals
- The Foxes will face José Mourinho's Roma across two legs in the last-four
- Manager Brendan Rodgers was overjoyed to see the players' efforts rewarded
Goals from James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira over the final 13 minutes in the Netherlands overturned Eran Zahavi's opener for the hosts. Following a 0-0 draw back in Leicester a week earlier, that was enough for the Foxes to reach the last-four of a European competition for the first ever time.
It was a result which sparked jubilant celebrations among the 1,600-strong travelling Blue Army in Eindhoven and back home - and Rodgers was thrilled to give them another memorable moment on the continent.
"It’s a very important victory for us tonight against a good side who are used to winning games," the Northern Irishman told LCFC TV. "We gave away a poor goal, but I take blame for that. I ask the players to play the game, so if they make a mistake, that’s down to me.
"The reaction was really impressive and eventually it becomes a really, really good night for us. I’m absolutely delighted for everyone involved with the Club. It’s a first semi-final, but we’re very determined now even more so to get to the final.
"The players were amazing in the second half. They showed a great resilience. We came to a stadium where they score lots of goals and they’ve got great confidence playing at home, but the players showed a real strong mentality. In the first half, we were a bit slow in the game.
"The movement, passing, everything was just too ponderous. In the second half, the intensity was better, we were aggressive in the game, we were running in behind, and we scored two wonderful goals."
A goal down at the interval and contemplating an end to their European journey, Leicester emerged from the tunnel intent on overturning the deficit and securing a semi-final tie against Italian giants Roma. What followed will last long in the memories of the Foxes faithful.
"I said to the players at half-time, when you get to these stages of these competitions, there’s no second chances," the 49-year-old added. "You can’t wait. I felt, especially with them 1-0 up, they wanted to be sat in, so we needed a bit more guile and cleverness on the field.
"The spaces were deeper and you need players who can move. Ade [Lookman] was great on that side and we obviously changed it to try and keep two up. It was just then about getting the extra men back into midfield, so Madders went into a no.10 position. Ayo (Ayoze Pérez) came in, who I thought was absolutely amazing.
"He gave the team aggression and his cut-back for the first goal was absolutely fantastic so I’m happy for him."
City are continuing to build their experience on the European stage under Rodgers' management and the manager says full focus is now on securing a place in the final.
"It means everything," he explained. "We’re very, very young in terms of international experience. If you think of PSV, they’ve got great tradition and history. You can sense that in the atmosphere, they’re used to being in a European competition, 48 in a row I believe.
"Us, we’re still so young, but that’s what it’s about. You’ve got to achieve, you’ve got to develop. To be able to take the Club into that first semi-final is absolutely great. It was a great atmosphere and we could hear our supporters. It will be a great night for them.
"They’ve seen their team go close, but I think hopefully now they’ll see that this is a really resilient team, a team that will keeping fighting, keep working, keep running. They were up in the clouds but it was a great night for them."