Claudio Ranieri: 'Leicester City caught Club Brugge by surprise'

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has claimed that his side's bright start to life in the Champions League caught Club Brugge by surprise and led the way for an "important win".

The Foxes secured a 3-0 victory in Belgium on Wednesday evening to ensure that they got their Group G campaign off to the perfect start, courtesy of an early Marc Albrighton goal and a Riyad Mahrez brace at the Jan Breydelstadion.

City headed into the match on the back of a disappointing start to their Premier League title defence, culminating in a heavy 4-1 defeat to Liverpool last weekend, but Ranieri was delighted to see his charges respond in the best manner possible.

"It was an important win for us after the Liverpool defeat," he told BT Sport. "We scored very early and that gave us more confidence during all the match.

"Club Brugge moved the ball very well, they had the control of the ball but we had control of the match and that was good for us.

"Maybe at the beginning we surprised them. I said to the players when you hear the Champions League music it charges the battery and makes you fight."

Group G leaders Leicester can now look forward to successive home games in the coming weeks, as they take on Porto and Copenhagen at the King Power Stadium.