Leicester held to frustrating draw by PSV in first leg of quarter-final

Leicester missed the chance to take control of their Europa Conference League quarter-final after drawing 0-0 with PSV.

The Foxes head to Eindhoven next week without a precious advantage following an even and competitive first leg at the King Power Stadium.

Harvey Barnes hit the bar and Kelechi Iheanacho missed a golden first-half chance to give Leicester crucial breathing space.

Ultimately the Foxes were left frustrated in a combative encounter, although they needed Kasper Schmeichel to bail them out early when he saved from Mario Gozte.

Leicester’s last European quarter-final was their 2017 Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid. Then, they gallantly bowed out 2-1 on aggregate after two gutsy performances and this time they go to Eindhoven with the tie delicately poised.

Five years ago they were defiant in the face of the footballing elite and, after a disappointing early exit from the Europa League in December, the Foxes are three games away from their first European final.

They face a team second in the Eredivisie, but outgoing PSV boss Roger Schmidt, who will be replaced by Ruud Van Nistelrooy in the summer, insisted pre-match his side could not match Leicester’s individual talent.

He argued they needed to use their collective ability and the visitors nearly stunned the hosts after just two minutes.

The Foxes were caught napping at a throughball and Gotze had just Schmeichel to beat, but the goalkeeper – one of only two survivors from the starting line up against Atletico – saved well.

Initially Leicester failed to settle, with the lively Noni Madueke central to PSV’s early threat, but they gradually began to see more of the ball and wrestled a degree of control.

And they should have gone ahead after 20 minutes,