Leicester City have held Copenhagen to a goalless draw in Denmark to move closer to the last 16 of the Champions League.
In a match of few chances, the Foxes did enough to nullify the home side and claim a result which ensures that they only require one more point to progress through to the knockout stages of the competition.
Leicester went into the game having impressed in their opening three group fixtures, but they produced one of their worst 45 minutes of the season in the first half as they failed to pose any threat to the Danish champions.
Copenhagen's opening chance fell to Federico Santander but he directed his header over the crossbar before William Kvist fired wide of the post from 25 yards.
Claudio Ranieri was visibly annoyed on the touchline and his mood did not improve as Danny Drinkwater and Robert Huth both picked up bookings as a result of individual mistakes.
Towards the end of the first half, Leicester finally started to show some ambition in the final third but they were restricted to a long-range effort from Jeffrey Schlupp, which rolled through to the goalkeeper after a deflection off the ineffective Jamie Vardy.
Leicester improved during the opening minutes of the second half but aside from a long-range strike from Daniel Amartey, they were unable to get any shots near Robin Olsen's goal.
Up the other end, Copenhagen were having the better of the ball in the final third but they, too, were restricted to efforts from outside of the penalty area.
Both shots came from similar positions from 20 yards but neither Peter Ankersen nor Benjamin Verbic was able to test Kasper Schmeichel.
The Copenhagen-born stopper also had to be alert to prevent the ball going in at the near post, but he was barely required on his return to Denmark until the final minute of the game.
A cross from Kasper Kusk found the head of Cornelius but despite his header seemingly destined for the bottom corner, Schmeichel got two hands in the way before Santander blazed the rebound over the crossbar.
With Leicester still needing to travel to Porto, it was an intervention that could make all the difference at the end of the group stages, and the Premier League champions will now hope to secure their place in the draw for the second round with a positive result against Club Brugge in three weeks' time.
Darren Plant
