Vardy Brings a Point Home!

Leeds vs Leicester Match Report – By Lewis Royle

Leeds United welcomed fellow relegation strugglers Leicester to Elland Road in an exciting 1-1 draw, as veteran Jamie Vardy equalised late on. With both teams just one team apart in 16^th and 17^th place in the Premier League, there was no surprise the encounter began end to end.

It didn’t take long for the first glimpse of action, as in the seventh minute, Youri Tielemans hit an immaculate strike from outside of the box straight into the top left corner, leaving Illan Meslier stuck to the spot. Unfortunately for the Foxes, the goal was given offside just minutes later thanks to a VAR decision, as Boubakary Soumare was spotted offside in the build-up.

The contest continued to be a feisty one, but it was the hosts who struck first. Just under the halfway mark in the second half, Jack Harrison whipped a superb cross back post from the right flank deep in the Leicester half, only to find Colombian international Luis Sinisterra, who calmly headed the ball down into the ground, leaving Daniel Iversen with no chance. City have now conceded in each of their last 18 matches, their worst clean sheet record since 1994.

Shortly after his goal, Sinisterra made his way off the pitch due to an injury. Heading into the break, The Peacocks had a slender lead, but it was the away side who came out stronger in the second interval. Starboy James Maddison finally found his passing boots, threading balls through to his teammates as the visitors created chance after chance. The closest they came was in the 57^th minute, as a cross from Timothy Castagne that was flicked on by Wout Faes found Kelechi Iheanacho, the former Manchester City striker fed the ball back to Harvey Barnes, who curled his shot just over the Leeds bar. Barnes has a great record against The Whites, scoring in the last five games against them, so it was a shock to see him goalless.

As The Blues piled the pressure on a vulnerable Leeds defence, with Iheanacho and Patson Daka being denied by the Leeds number one, an equaliser came from no other than substitute Vardy. Maddison laid the ball off to the number nine, before he calmly slotted the chance away into the far corner, a huge goal in the relegation scrap. Just minutes later, Vardy scored again by smashing the ball into the roof of the net, but for the second time in the game, the offside flag was raised to the disappointment of the travelling fans. Vardy’s goal was his first in 973 minutes since he netted in the EFL Cup against League One side MK Dons.

There was late drama in injury time, as Patrick Bamford almost looked destined to tap the ball home after havoc in the Leicester penalty area, however he somehow managed to stab the ball wide of the post, leaving everyone in disbelief.

The foxes managed to hold off the home side, taking a point from the game. Both sides stay in the same position, but Leicester are now a point clear of the relegation zone, despite Everton having a game in hand. How big will this result be going into the final stages of the season?