How we scored the players as Leicester City moved out of the drop zone with a 2-2 draw against Everton, Caglar Soyuncu and Jamie Vardy scoring on a night they needed to win
Leicester City moved out of the drop zone but did not claim the win their fight against relegation desperately required.
Billed as a ‘loser goes down’ affair, City and Everton played out a 2-2 draw that neither side will be happy with, but one that does take Dean Smith’s side up to 16th.
It was a match full of mistakes, and City needed an excellent performance from their goalkeeper Daniel Iversen to get a point, with goals from Caglar Souyucu and Jamie Vardy in between finishes from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Alex Iwobi.
The key moment, though, maybe James Maddison’s missed penalty just before half-time, the number 10 spurning an opportunity to put City 3-1 up and swinging momentum back Everton’s way.
After Nottingham Forest and Leeds’s defeat over the weekend, City had been presented with a fine opportunity to lift themselves up the table, and the fans were up for it. The players, at the start of the half, were not.
In a chaotic, error-strewn 45 minutes that could have finished 4-4, Everton was on top early, with Daniel Iversen making a world-class reaction save to keep out Alex Iwobi, only for his clean sheet to disappear when Calvert-Lewin converted from the spot, the England striker picking himself up after Timothy Castagne’s clumsy foul.
There was, however, a quick response, and it came from an unlikely source. Wout Faes kept a free-kick alive to head to Soyuncu, the forgotten man under Brendan Rodgers, with the Turk’s volley squirming under Jordan Pickford for his first goal in more than 18 months.
Vardy then put City into the lead with a vintage goal. Youri Tielemans intercepted a poor Alex Iwobi pass and Maddison picked it up to thread through City’s number nine, who rounded Pickford to score for the second game running.
The final moments of the half could have seen two more goals for both sides. Iversen saved a goal-bound Dwight McNeil shot and then got his foot onto Calvert-Lewin’s effort from three yards, the Everton striker somehow spurning a golden chance. Straight up the other end, Vardy twisted the Toffee’s defense inside out before hitting the crossbar.
And then at the end of a long period of injury time owing to Seamus Coleman’s serious injury, City were awarded a penalty following Michael Keane’s handball. It was Maddisom, not Tielemans or Vardy, who stepped up, but his dreadful effort was saved down the middle by Pickford.
That save swung the momentum Everton’s way and they started the second half the better, equalizing 10 minutes into it when a cross was flicked on to the back post where Iwobi, not marked tightly enough by Luke Thomas, volleyed in.
The rest of the match followed a pattern. City controlled possession and territory and created a few good chances, notably a header for Vardy that was blocked on the line by James Tarkowski. But Everton had just as many opportunities on the break when City gave up the ball, Iversen superbly tipping a Doucoure shot wide at the death. The sides had to settle for a point apiece.
Daniel Iversen: He made one of the saves of the season to tip away Iwobi’s effort and then proceeded to make countless excellent stops, denying McNeil with a strong hand, and then Calvert-Lewin on the goal-line before tipping Doucoure’s shot wide. He claimed crosses too and dealt well with a miscommunication with Castagne too. However, his kicking was way off. 9
Timothy Castagne: A clumsy, ill-judged foul on Calvert-Lewin saw him give away the penalty that City had to bounce back from, and there were other defensive moments where he didn’t cover himself in glory either. He improved as the game went on, though, denying McNeil with a block while making himself an option in attack. 5
Wout Faes: He kept the cross alive to set up Soyuncu’s goal and charged out well at times to stop Calvert-Lewin from receiving the ball to feet. Then, in the last 10 minutes, he made some key blocks. 7
Caglar Soyuncu: Having been City’s savior at the back since his return, now he was their hero at the top end, netting an instinctive equalizer. At the back, he won plenty of important headers with excellent positioning but wasn’t quite as commanding as in other matches. 7
Luke Thomas: He made important interventions at times and didn’t shy from getting stuck in, while also serving good ball forward, either into Barnes’ feet or long to Vardy. However, he was nowhere near tight enough to Iwobi for the goal and his first-half chance, the Nigerian regularly beating him. 5
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