A Good Night's Work, Says Barnes

- Leicester City progressed into the last 16 of the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday
- A 3-1 win on the night made it 7-2 on aggregate to overcome Danish side Randers
- Harvey Barnes netted the first goal ahead of two James Maddison strikes
- The Academy graduate felt the Foxes overcame difficult conditions to seal victory

Taking a 4-1 lead from the first leg, the Foxes saw out the job at Cepheus Park Randers on Thursday evening, getting off to the perfect start when Barnes struck the opener inside two minutes.

While not playing at their best, the winger felt it was a professional away performance, owing to that early strike, which set City up for a successful trip to Scandinavia.

“I think we knew coming here that it was going to be a difficult game,” he reflected in his post-match interview with LCFC TV. “Obviously we had a good lead from the first leg, but the pitch made it difficult, I think, so that was something to deal with.

“The early goal put us in a good position and throughout the game we did alright. We weren’t playing to our best, but we felt we controlled the game and to go and get the other goals as well, it was a good night’s work.

“It just broke nicely for me early and I obviously had to be clinical and put it away. For that to come at an early stage of the game, it was important for us, because that first goal was always going to be important, especially in a tie like this. It was a great start and we kicked on really well.”

Two stunning James Maddison strikes followed in quick succession during the second half, with Leicester showing their quality despite tricky conditions on Denmark’s east coast and a raucous capacity-crowd in attendance.

Although Stephen Odey’s late consolation prevented the visitors earning a clean sheet on the night, it was still a job well done to comfortably progress into the last 16.

 “They were great goals,” Barnes said on his team-mate's strikes. “Great finishes at important stages of the game when you can see that they were pushing a bit and they had a few chances. We defended them well and then obviously the goals came at a good time and put us in a comfortable position.

Gallery 24 Feb 2022

Randers 1 Leicester City 3 (2-7 Aggregate)

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“The pitch wasn’t great, so sometimes it’s difficult to get the ball down and play that nice football that we wanted. We had change it up a bit and go in behind and fight and get second balls. We knew it was going to be like that and I think we did that well. We created some decent chances and were clinical.”

After a comprehensive 7-2 aggregate success, the Academy graduate says the squad are aiming to go deep into the competition, while also gathering some momentum in their league campaign, ahead of meeting Burnley at Turf Moor next Tuesday.

The 24-year-old added: “It’s a great chance for us to go and get some silverware. We’ve put ourselves in a good position into the last 16 and we’ll just have to wait and see who we’ll get and take it from there.

“It’s going to be another tough game. Away at Burnley is never an easy game but after today’s win and, in the last few weeks, we’ve played some good football and scored some good goals, so we’ll go there full of confidence, and we’ll go there looking for three points.”