City will contest their sixth European journey in 2021/22 after winning the Emirates FA Cup and finishing fifth in the Premier League last term.
The previous five campaigns have brought with them some memorable moments, including last-minute strikes, challenging the continent’s elite clubs and Club record European wins.
Sweeping the Irish Cup winners aside
Beginning in 1961, City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup, despite losing to Tottenham in the FA Cup Final a few months prior.
However, as Spurs had been entered into the European Cup as First Division champions, their space was allotted to Leicester, making their maiden appearance in the preliminary round.
The tie with Irish Cup winners Glenavon resulted in a 7-2 aggregate victory across two legs, including a 4-1 triumph away from home – a result that up until 2020 was City’s biggest win in Europe.
James Walsh, Colin Appleton, Ken Keyworth and Hugh Mcllmoyle were all on target and the Foxes then faced Atlético Madrid in the first round proper, and despite a 1-1 draw in the first round at Filbert Street, they lost 2-0 at the Vicente Calderón.
Taggart on target vs. Belgrade
After winning the League Cup for the second time in four years, City’s second UEFA Cup campaign saw them pitted against Serbian side Red Star Belgrade as they attempted to maintain their early season momentum.
Three years prior, Leicester had suffered a painful defeat in the same competition to Atlético Madrid, who, after a controversial sending off for Garry Parker, advanced with a 4-1 aggregate win.
In 2000, though, the Foxes had Gerry Taggart to thank in the first leg, as they took a 1-1 draw into the second leg following the Northern Irishman’s header, which cancelled out Milenko Ačimovič's strike.
Due to unrest in Belgrade, the second leg too place in Vienna, and while Muzzy Izzet struck in reply to Goran Drulić’s opener, Drulić was on target again alongside a Ivan Gvozdenović goal to hand Red Star Belgrade a 4-2 aggregate success.
City’s Champions League bow
After recently being crowned champions of England for the first time in the Club’s history, Leicester City were rewarded with a maiden campaign in the UEFA Champions League – and it couldn’t have got off to a better start.
The Foxes were pitted against Club Brugge, FC Porto and FC Copenhagen in Group G, and first faced the Belgian champions at Jan Breydel Stadium on a September summer’s evening.
After only five minutes, Luis Hernández’s long throw fell to Marc Albrighton at the far post, and the winger was there to fire home the Club’s first-ever Champions League goal, creating an iconic European moment for City in the process.
A double from Riyad Mahrez followed, including a lovely free-kick from the Algeria international, as the Foxes made a statement at the start of their fourth European adventure.
Knockout success against Sevilla in Leicester
Having progressed as group winners after losing just once in six games, City were drawn against Sevilla in the Round of 16 stage, with the Spanish side entering the competition on the back of three consecutive UEFA Europa League triumphs.
Leicester travelled to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium for the first leg, and while strikes from Pablo Sarabia and Joaquín Correa handed Sevilla a 2-0 lead, a vital away goal came after Jamie Vardy converted Danny Drinkwater’s low cross.
That meant it was all to play for in Leicester, who ahead of the second leg saw Craig Shakespeare put in interim charge of the first team following Claudio Ranieri’s departure.
It was an iconic night on Filbert Way. First, skipper Wes Morgan bundled home to put City ahead on away goals, before Albrighton graciously converted a half-volley to seal his side’s safe passage into the quarter-finals.
A valiant effort versus Atléti
The success over Sevilla handed Leicester a last-16 showdown with familiar foes Atlético, with the first leg taking place in the Spanish capital in April 2017.
Just one goal separated the sides on the evening after the hosts were awarded a speculative penalty following Albrighton’s foul on Antoine Griezmann, who converted his spot-kick in the first half.
Limiting their opponents to a 1-0 advantage, a raucous King Power Stadium greeted them for the second leg, but a brilliant Saúl Ñíguez header gave Atlético a vital away goal, and a 2-0 lead on aggregate.
An equaliser followed for City in the second half thanks to Vardy’s far-post strike, and while the hosts created further chances, they bowed out of the competition in graceful style.
Our biggest win in Europe
Despite Braga being the closest challengers to Leicester City at the top of Group G during their 2020/21 UEFA Europa League campaign, a resounding 4-0 win in November 2020 proved to be their largest triumph in Europe.
Following back-to-back wins over Zorya Luhansk and AEK Athens, the Foxes knew a win over Braga would put them in a commanding position to advance into the knockout stages.
They not only won, but set a new Club record in the process thanks to two goals and an assist from Kelechi Iheanacho, who set up Dennis Praet for a third of the night before James Maddison concluded the scoring.
The triumph put Leicester three points clear at the top of their pool, having won all of their opening matches on their Europa League debut.
Late drama seals qualification
Having beaten Braga 4-0 in their previous Europa League match, the Foxes knew a win would guarantee qualification into the Round of 32.
During an end-to-end encounter, six goals saw City share the spoils, and ultimately advance to the next round due to AEK Athens losing out to Zorya Luhansk on the same evening.
Although Al Musrati struck early on, Harvey Barnes levelled matters just five minutes later. Then, Paulinho restored Braga’s lead before another Academy graduate – Luke Thomas – found the net for his first goal for the Club.
With only added time remaining, Fransergio looked to have pinched all three points for the home side, however Vardy's 95th-minute leveller sent City through in a 3-3 thriller.