Leicester & Everton remain in trouble after chaotic draw

3 years ago 39
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Jamie Vardy scoresJamie Vardy scored just his third league goal of the season for Leicester

Leicester City and Everton had to settle for a draw in a chaotic match which leaves both in deep trouble at the wrong end of the Premier League table.

The two clubs started the game in the bottom three but a point was enough to drag Leicester out of the drop zone on goal difference, while Everton stay 19th, one point behind 17th-placed Leeds.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring with just his second goal of the season from the penalty spot, picking himself up to convert after being bundled over by Timothy Castagne.

The lead lasted just seven minutes as the hosts equalised through Caglar Soyuncu, who rolled home a cool finish from Wout Faes' knockdown.

And Leicester turned the game around after 33 minutes as the sprightly Jamie Vardy latched on to James Maddison's through ball before rounding Jordan Pickford and stroking home.

The Toffees should have levelled before half-time but Calvert-Lewin contrived to miss an open goal from a couple of yards, before Leicester broke down the other end and Vardy struck the crossbar.

There was still time in a breathless first half for Pickford to save Maddison's penalty, which was struck straight down the middle by the England midfielder.

It proved costly as the visitors drew level nine minutes after the restart when Alex Iwobi guided in a low finish, but neither side were able to find a winner.

Everton, meanwhile, will also be concerned by a serious-looking injury to captain Seamus Coleman, sustained in the opening period following a collision with Boubakary Soumare.

Leicester fail to hold on

The game ebbed and flowed between two sides aiming for top-flight survival but was a missed opportunity in their aim to escape the relegation mire.

An electric atmosphere was generated at King Power Stadium by both the home fans with their 'clappers' and the away supporters through their vociferous backing.

Ultimately, Maddison's penalty miss at the end of the first half turned out to be the crucial moment - the playmaker was made to wait to take the spot-kick before fluffing his effort straight at Pickford.

It would have put Leicester 3-1 up and possibly out of sight, but Sean Dyche's men clawed out a draw courtesy of Iwobi's well-taken strike on 54 minutes.

Midfielder Maddison was heavily involved throughout the game as well as the miss from 12 yards, and saw a low drive and curling effort kept out by his England team-mate.

The home side recovered from Calvert-Lewin's 15th-minute penalty to turn the game around as defender Soyuncu levelled and Vardy rolled back the years with a vintage finish.

But Leicester's issues lie in defence where a porous backline have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their past 19 games, dating back to November.

They also missed the opportunity to collect back-to-back victories at home for the first time in a year and bear all the hallmarks of a relegation-threatened team.

Despite being on a three-game unbeaten run, the Foxes have won just one of their past 12, picking up only six points in the process.

Leicester have four games remaining to preserve their top-flight status, away at Fulham and Newcastle and home games against Liverpool and West Ham on the last day of the season.

More to follow.

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Leicester City

  1. Squad number31Player nameIversen

  2. Squad number27Player nameCastagne

  3. Squad number3Player nameFaes

  4. Squad number4Player nameSöyüncü

  5. Squad number33Player nameThomas

  6. Squad number8Player nameTielemans

  7. Squad number25Player nameNdidi

  8. Squad number42Player nameSoumaré

  9. Squad number10Player nameMaddison

  10. Squad number9Player nameVardy

  11. Squad number7Player nameBarnes

  1. Squad number16Player nameKristiansen

  2. Squad number20Player nameDaka

  3. Squad number26Player namePraet

Everton

  1. Squad number1Player namePickford

  2. Squad number23Player nameColeman

  3. Squad number5Player nameKeane

  4. Squad number2Player nameTarkowski

  5. Squad number19Player nameMykolenko

  6. Squad number37Player nameGarner

  7. Squad number27Player nameGueye

  8. Squad number17Player nameIwobi

  9. Squad number16Player nameDoucouré

  10. Squad number7Player nameMcNeil

  11. Squad number9Player nameCalvert-Lewin

  1. Squad number3Player namePatterson

Line-ups

Leicester

Formation 4-3-3

  • 31Iversen
  • 27Castagne
  • 3Faes
  • 4Söyüncü
  • 33ThomasBooked at 53minsSubstituted forKristiansenat 88'minutesBooked at 90mins
  • 8Tielemans
  • 25NdidiSubstituted forDakaat 61'minutes
  • 42SoumaréBooked at 44mins
  • 10MaddisonBooked at 89mins
  • 9Vardy
  • 7BarnesSubstituted forPraetat 88'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Ward
  • 15Souttar
  • 16Kristiansen
  • 18Amartey
  • 20Daka
  • 22Dewsbury-Hall
  • 24Mendy
  • 26Praet
  • 37Tetê

Everton

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Pickford
  • 23ColemanSubstituted forPattersonat 45+5'minutes
  • 5Keane
  • 2Tarkowski
  • 19Mykolenko
  • 37Garner
  • 27GueyeBooked at 56mins
  • 17Iwobi
  • 16Doucouré
  • 7McNeil
  • 9Calvert-Lewin

Substitutes

  • 3Patterson
  • 8Onana
  • 11Gray
  • 13Mina
  • 15Begovic
  • 20Maupay
  • 26Davies
  • 30Coady
  • 50Simms

Referee:Michael Oliver

Attendance:32,173

Live Text

  1. Match ends, Leicester City 2, Everton 2.

  2. Second Half ends, Leicester City 2, Everton 2.

  3. Victor Kristiansen (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  4. Foul by Victor Kristiansen (Leicester City).

  5. Nathan Patterson (Everton) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  6. James Maddison (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  7. Foul by James Maddison (Leicester City).

  8. Idrissa Gueye (Everton) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  9. Foul by Dennis Praet (Leicester City).

  10. Nathan Patterson (Everton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Substitution, Leicester City. Victor Kristiansen replaces Luke Thomas.

  12. Substitution, Leicester City. Dennis Praet replaces Harvey Barnes.

  13. Patson Daka (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  14. Foul by James Garner (Everton).

  15. Corner, Everton. Conceded by Daniel Iversen.

  16. Attempt saved. Abdoulaye Doucouré (Everton) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.

  17. Offside, Leicester City. Patson Daka tries a through ball, but Jamie Vardy is caught offside.

  18. Attempt missed. Michael Keane (Everton) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Dwight McNeil with a cross following a corner.

  19. Corner, Everton. Conceded by Wout Faes.

  20. Attempt blocked. Alex Iwobi (Everton) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

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