Thursday 15 September 2016 12:37, UK
Jordan Halford travelled to Bruges for Sky Sports to witness Leicester City's victorious Champions League debut...
As the coach rolls back into the car park adjacent to the King Power Stadium, bleary eyes and weary souls alight after a long journey back from Belgium.
It's 8am local time as the sun pierces through the windows and many ardent Leicester supporters have been awake for upwards of 48 hours.
For these fans the trawl across the channel to watch the English champions' maiden voyage in the Champions League was a long one, but after Wednesday night's performance the journey was vindicated.
For many Leicester fans, the European adventure started long before their departure from the East Midlands to Bruges. The planning began last April when they clinched Champions League qualification with a 2-0 win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
After going on to win the Premier League title at odds of 5000-1, dreams of meeting Europe's elite, in the group stage at least, were put on hold as they were placed in pot one alongside the prestigious names of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
The Foxes were instead drawn in Group G alongside Porto, FC Copenhagen and Club Brugge and the Jan Breydel Stadium was the venue where Leicester would embark on their first foray into Europe's premier club competition in 132 years.
Leicester have competed in Europe on three previous occasions - in the 1961 Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup in 1997/98 and 2000/01 - but this was the pinnacle of their overseas jaunts.
Whilst Club Brugge may not have been the most glamorous opening fixture, the capital of West Flanders provided the perfect backdrop with its cobbled streets and winding canals making it one of the most picturesque cities in Europe.
Leicester fans descended on the city in their thousands, many of whom arrived without tickets to follow their heroes in blue and white while basking in the sunshine which bathed the medieval streets and grandiose churches.
The journey to Bruges itself began with the coach packed with Union FS members - a fan group dedicated to improving the atmosphere at Leicester games - leaving at midnight on Tuesday ahead of the game, travelling through the night to catch a 5am ferry, before eventually touching down on Belgian soil at 8am.
Fuelled by excitement, spirits were high and the Markt square was soon adorned in a vast array of flags as many feasted on the Belgian waffles, white chocolate and beers available in the sweltering heat.
English fans are often considered to have a stigma attached to them when following their team abroad, but there was no police presence to be seen in the town centre and the visiting fans were in fine voice.
There were 1,400 supporters lucky enough to have been eligible to purchase tickets for the game, but passport ID upon collection ensured those fans who borrowed references were unable to pick up their tickets, leading to several empty seats in the away end.
The hosts encountered similar problems, with roughly 7,000 unsold tickets as the home side failed to fall in love with Leicester's fairytale.
Not that it mattered to the visiting players, as Claudio Ranieri's side announced their arrival on the European stage in emphatic style.
Just eight years ago, Leicester lost for the first time in the third tier of English football against Millwall thanks to a Gary Alexander goal at the King Power Stadium. Now they're celebrating a comfortable 3-0 win over the Belgian champions in their own back yard.
Marc Albrighton gave the visitors the lead inside five minutes, volleying home at the back post following Luis Hernandez's long throw to send the travelling fans into raptures.
And Riyad Mahrez doubled Leicester's advantage just before the half-hour mark, curling in a sublime free-kick from the edge of the box.
The Algerian winger then put the game to bed in the 61st minute as he converted from the penalty spot after Jamie Vardy was upended to ensure all three points were heading back to the East Midlands.
Following last year's exertions, the defending champions have endured a difficult start to their Premier League title defence, picking up just four points from as many games so far, including defeats on the road against newly-promoted Hull City and Liverpool.
But against Club Brugge, Leicester were back to their swashbuckling best on the counter-attack as the Belgian champions struggled to deal with the pace of Vardy in attack alongside record-signing Islam Slimani and the trickery of Mahrez.
"Maybe the music woke him up," Ranieri joked after the game. "Maybe he is very tired of listening to dilly-ding, dilly-dong and prefers the Champions League music!"
The Foxes welcome Burnley to the King Power Stadium on Saturday as they go in search of their second home win on the bounce this season, but after last night's superb display Leicester fans will still be dreaming of achieving the impossible (again) in Europe.
