ANTOINE GRIEZMANN, ATLETICO MADRID BEAT LEICESTER CITY 1-0 IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

ANTOINE GRIEZMANN, ATLETICO MADRID BEAT LEICESTER CITY 1-0 IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Antoine Griezmann netted a first-half penalty to earn Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win over Leicester City in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie at the Vicente Calderon Stadium on Wednesday.

The Foxes could not score an away goal to take back to the King Power Stadium for next week's second leg but largely limited Atleti to long shots during a cagey 90 minutes.

Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare will have reason to feel aggrieved as there was more than a hint of controversy around Atletico's 28th-minute spot-kick.

But, on the balance of play, the hosts deserved the narrow victory, and Leicester are still very much in the tie with the second leg to come.

Atleti were totally dominant in possession in the early exchanges. Fernando Torres forced Kasper Schmeichel into an easy early save before Koke rattled the post from distance.

It was clear Leicester's plan was to look to release Jamie Vardy on the counter-attack whenever they won the ball deep.

But that only served to return the ball too quickly to Atleti, and Leicester were overwhelmed in the first quarter of the match, per The Independent's Miguel Delaney:

They did not concede, though, and looked to be growing in confidence before Griezmann was released down the left flank in the 27th minute.

He raced towards the box, was felled by Marc Albrighton and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Griezmann duly slotted coolly home from 12 yards.

There was controversy, though, as the foul looked to have been committed outside the box, per BT Sport Football.

Leicester could easily have conceded another penalty minutes later, but Wilfred Ndidi escaped punishment for stepping on Saul Niguez's foot.

Atleti remained in control into the second half but only looked sporadically dangerous, while Riyad Mahrez arguably should have done better for the Foxes in the 56th minute but could only curl his effort wide from inside the box. 

The Algerian was then convinced he should have had a penalty just after the hour, but referee Jonas Eriksson was not receptive to Leicester's pleas, per Spanish football writer Dermot Corrigan.

The Foxes were fortunate not to concede a second when Torres ghosted past two defenders and into space in the box before slipping at the crucial moment.

However, the visitors were a lot more controlled in the second half, and while they had few chances of their own, goalkeeper Schmeichel was well protected and had little to do.

The Foxes managed to hang on in the closing stages and will be confident they can cause Atletico problems at the King Power Stadium as they look to make unlikely progress to the last four. 

Schmeichel made it clear afterwards that he was not happy with the penalty award and said the decision "ruined our game plan," per BT Sport Football.Meanwhile, Atleti manager Diego Simeone said he is expecting a tough encounter in the return leg, per La Liga: "It was a hard-fought match. It's a good win for us but the second leg will be difficult. It's all still to play for."