Ranieri sees himself as 'matador' in Leicester City's tie against Sevilla

Leicester City may very well be the weakest side remaining in the Champions League. The Foxes are still waiting for their first goal in 2017 and possess the longest run of matches without a goal in Europe’s top-five leagues.

But Claudio Ranieri believes Leicester’s tie against Sevilla in the Champions League’s Round of 16 can mark a watershed.

At a press conference Tuesday, a reporter reminded Ranieri that Seville, Spain is famous for bullfighting and asked whether the Italian manager should be treated as the matador in the tie. The glasses-wearing tactician was already smiling by the end of the question, and he replied: “If I have the balls?” After a pause, he added: “The matador.”

“I could leave last season – nobody could tell me nothing,” Ranieri said, per the Guardian’s Stuart James. “I won the title, I have something but I wanted to stay because I knew it was a difficult year. I came here to build something good for Leicester and I keep going. I forget the title, I go back and I want to achieve something good for these fans, for the chairman and for the city.”

Barring the mathematical improbability of Leicester defending its crown in the Premier League, the Champions League is the Foxes’ only remaining shot at silverware as the club crashed out of the FA Cup on Saturday at the hands of Millwall in the tournament’s fifth round.