Jamie Vardy scored a late equalizer to help Leicester produce one of the close football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. The Leeds striker only needed to tap in at the far post after Marc Roca flicked on a corner as a tight six-pointer approached the 90-minute mark, but Bamford fluffed his attempt, which bounced wide. That onside error occurred shortly after Jamie Vardy came off the bench to score a last-second equalizer (80), after Luis Sinisterra had given Leeds the lead against the odds (20). The point does nothing to improve either team’s prospects of surviving, as Leicester also had two goals disallowed for offside, one early for Youri Tielemans and the other a late Vardy winner.
Due to the draw, Leeds now have a one-point advantage over Leicester in the standings. If Nottingham Forest defeats Brighton on Wednesday, they can knock their bitter rivals the Foxes into the bottom three, while Everton can pass both of them if they defeat Newcastle on Thursday. Leicester controlled the first ten minutes of the game, causing Leeds’ defense and midfield to make careless mistakes, leading the visitors to believe they were ahead at the break. The area around the corner of the returning James Maddison was cleaned up to Tielemans, who fired a rocket past the still Illan Meslier and into the top corner.
To the delight of the raucous Elland Road crowd, VAR intervened after it detected a blatant offside on Boubacar Soumare in the build-up. Harvey Barnes’ clear opportunity was successfully stopped by Liam Cooper as the Foxes continued to dominate, and Maddison then missed the far post after Tete’s cross. However, a similar move would give Leeds the lead as Sinisterra headed past Daniel Iversen at the back post after Jack Harrison cut through from the right side.
Leeds suddenly gained control of the game, as Leicester struggled to get their key strikers involved. Luke Ayling’s speculative lob over Iversen that was the only other opportunity of the half fell gladly into the arms of the Leicester custodian. In the second half, Leeds attempted to end the game. Bamford’s attempt was successfully blocked by Wout Faes, then Rodrigo patiently waited in the box before attempting a close-range shot, which the same Leicester center-back stopped.
Then, the Foxes had their finest opportunity of the match when Kelechi Iheanacho collected Faes’ attempt from within the penalty area. Barnes received a square pass from the Leicester forward and curled over from a terrific position. Maddison’s close-range free-kick hit the wall as Leicester’s dismal shooting continued, but Dean Smith’s changes of Patson Daka and Vardy helped the visitors improve. With 20 minutes left, Iheanacho and Daka forced the Leeds custodian into a magnificent double save. The Foxes attacker was then stopped by Meslier after Iheanacho forced the stop, and Caglar Soyuncu acrobatically missed the resultant corner.
Vardy, a different substitute, would deliver the decisive punch for Leeds, though. The Leicester number nine was released by fast passes from Daka and Maddison, who then finished the move with a signature finish. A spectacular conclusion followed. The linesman properly flagged Vardy offside after he had the ball in the net again but went too early and failed to hold his run. Following that, three Leeds opportunities were missed as custodian Iversen denied Roca from a corner at point-blank range and then Brenden Aaronson with a low stop a few seconds later.
“At halftime, I talked to the players about regaining control of our build and the ball, which we accomplished in the second half,” Leicester boss Dean Smith said. “We didn’t penetrate as much as we needed to in the opening 20 minutes of the second half, in my opinion, which is why we made substitutes. After that, they changed, and we succeeded in penetrating. Although I am sad that we didn’t earn all three points, I am also aware that Leeds’ two set-piece attempts gave us a chance to lose.”
For more football news, click here
