Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli says Leicester's title win 'doesn't matter'
Tuesday 21 February 2017 15:13, UK
Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli says Leicester's stunning Premier League title triumph means nothing this season.
The Foxes are yet to win a Premier League game in 2017, have failed to score in their last six top-flight matches and were knocked out of the FA Cup by League One side Millwall on Saturday.
They travel to Spain for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie against Sevilla just a single point outside of the relegation zone, enduring a campaign in stark contrast to last term.
"We're not talking about the team that won a league miraculously, you have to live in the now," said the former Chile boss. "So last year Leicester won the league but right now they are fighting relegation.
"The present matters the most. [Claudio] Ranieri got so much from the team last year with so little but now he is struggling, the past doesn't matter, even when you have done something as miraculous as he did.
"I think Leicester are not having a good time in the league, they have a lot of doubts when last year they had so much belief. They were brilliant in the league last year and have been great in the Champions League, they qualified very quickly so in a two-legged tie it still poses a lot of risks for us."
Sevilla are third in La Liga following Saturday's 2-0 win over Eibar and have won nine of their 11 home league games this season - losing just once.
They finished second in Group H behind Juventus, who are the only team to beat them at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Europe this term.
Sampaoli has been reportedly linked with the Barcelona job - should Luis Enrique leave the Nou Camp in the summer - but he dismissed any talk over his future.
"We appreciate that they are trying to renew our contracts but we only want to live in the moment," he said.
"This is the most important game for Sevilla the city we want to be one of the best eight teams in Europe and that's more important than thinking about the future."
