Patson Daka and Harvey Barnes help Leicester run riot against Randers

Leicester teetered and could have slumped to another disappointing result in a season of stutters. Instead they rallied and took a big step towards the last 16 of the Europa Conference League, in the process ending a five-match winless run.

They were in danger of extending that streak when Vito Hammershøy-Mistrati struck before half-time to cancel out Wilfred Ndidi’s opening goal. But Harvey Barnes, Patson Daka and the excellent Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall then found the net to leave the second leg of this looking like a formality.

As supporters made their way into the stadium they may have paused at the spot outside the north-western corner of the ground where, according to plans released by the club on Thursday, a statue will be erected of the late chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. News of the tribute was warmly welcomed by Leicester fans.

The Europa Conference League, by contrast, does not yet inspire much love – especially around these parts, with Leicester having gone into this season’s European campaign with far higher ambitions than to advance in the continent’s third-tier competition.

Brendan Rodgers made plain his lack of interest in the tournament in the immediate aftermath of Leicester’s elimination from the more vaunted Europa League in December but, as this tie drew closer, he insisted that he had come to terms with where his team currently are and wanted to win the tournament. With his team already out of the FA Cup and in the bottom half of the Premeir League, this represents their only chance of claiming silverware this season and their most likely route back into Europe. “We will give everything we can to do that,” said Rodgers. The Danish Cup winners, playing their first competitive match after a winter