U19s Report: Leicester City 3 FC Copenhagen 2

- Copenhagen stopper Filip Djukic was dismissed with 20 minutes gone 

- Alex Pascanu scored a superb volley on the stroke of half-time 

- Layton Ndukwu curled in two brilliant efforts from range to help seal all three points 

- Jonas Wind pulled one back for Copenhagen on 73 minutes 

A series of stunning strikes from Leicester City’s Under-19s saw them record their first UEFA Youth League victory by beating FC Copenhagen at Loughborough University on Tuesday. 

The young Foxes fell behind early on following Nicklas Rojkjaer’s neat finish, but when Copenhagen stopper Filip Djukic was sent off for saving a shot outside the box, the hosts turned the game on its head. 

City’s first goal was simply superb, as defender Alex Pascanu smashed in a volley from 20 yards to make it 1-1 just before the break. 

It took just six minutes of the second half for Leicester to take the lead, with Layton Ndukwu this time converting from the edge of the box with a fine strike. 

If his first effort wasn’t impressive enough, Ndukwu sent another excellent shot into the back of the net, this time from 25 yards to make it 3-1. 

The Danish outfit pulled one back on 73 minutes through Jonas Wind, but City defended well late on to grind out the win. 

An early opportunity fell to midfielder Harvey Barnes, who forced Copenhagen stopper Djukic into a good save after heading Ndukwu’s free kick towards goal on four minutes. 

The visiting side responded well and came close to breaking the deadlock on the 10-minute mark, as Rojkjaer hammered the crossbar with a curling free kick from 25 yards. 

But Rojkjaer made no mistakes with his next effort. The forward broke through and fired in to give Copenhagen the lead on 12 minutes – defender Pascanu unlucky not to clear the effort on the line. 

Shortly after, Copenhagen were reduced to 10 men, as Djukic handled Kairo Arlott-John’s shot outside the area and had to be dismissed. 

On the half-hour mark, Admiral Muskwe came just inches away from finding an equaliser, but after breaking free of his marker, he sent a low drive wide from 20 yards. 

The Foxes continued to threaten and only a fine save from substitute goalkeeper Christoffer Monty denied Lamine Sherif from distance. 

Copenhagen remained resilient, but when Pascanu was left unmarked on the edge of the box, City found a levelling goal. 

The right back hit a deflected Ndukwu shot first time to send a stunning 20-yard volley into the top corner on the stroke of half-time. 

City got the second half off to a flying start and took the lead through another brilliant strike. This time, it was Ndukwu who found the back of the net, as the England youth international curled in a beautiful effort from the edge of the box. 

More attempts followed for Leicester, with Arlott-John, Sherif and Barnes forcing Monty into action early on in the second half. 

Copenhagen got themselves right back in it with just over 15 minutes to play through Wind, who got up well to head in past Bramley. 

While the visitors had plenty of possession in the late stages, City stood strong to repel their forward line and earn all three points. 

CITY: Bramley (c), Pascanu, Moore, Johnson, Ughelumba, Thandi (Brown 67), Sherif, Barnes, Ndukwu, Arlott-John (Webber 90), Muskwe 

SUBS NOT USED: Templeton, French, Gruno, Fielding, Tee 

GOALS: Pascanu 45, Ndukwu 52, 67 

COPENHAGEN: Djukic, Roerslev, Vesterlund, Racic (c), Sahin (Monty 20), Bellman (Nartey 76), Rojkjaer, Wind, Bay, Kristoffersen (Justesen 59), Hjulmand 

SUBS NOT USED: Felix, Bonde, Jensen, Samrawi 

GOALS: Rojkjaer 12, Wind 73 

REFEREE: Bryn Markham-Jones