Everton vs Leicester City. Premier League.
Goodison Park.
Match report as Everton and Leicester play out a 1-1 draw; James Rodriguez's stunning strike gave hosts the lead; Jordan Pickford's error gifted Youri Tielemans a second-half equaliser; point means Everton are two points off fourth; Leicester stay third, two points behind leaders Man City
Thursday 28 January 2021 07:43, UK
Jordan Pickford's error gifted Leicester a 1-1 draw at Everton as both missed out on opportunities to climb the Premier League table.
James Rodriguez's superb strike (30) gave the hosts the lead after Leicester, who were without the injured Jamie Vardy, had dominated the majority of the first half.
Everton sat back on their lead in the second half, but Leicester eventually got reward for their dominance as Pickford allowed Youri Tielemans' shot to slip through his grasp for the equaliser.
Both sides had opportunities to win the game late on as Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James Maddison missed chances to seal all three points in front of the watching England boss Gareth Southgate, but in the end the two sides had to settle for a point.
The draw leaves Everton, who missed the chance to go above rivals Liverpool ahead of their game with Tottenham on Thursday, two points off the top four with two games in hand. Meanwhile, Leicester missed out on going second and level on points with leaders Man City after the draw at Goodison Park.
Straight from the off, Leicester put the home side on the back foot from the start but despite their dominance, they failed to create any real clear-cut chances as Everton soaked up a lot of pressure.
Everton, who were sitting deep, frustrated Leicester and they took the lead thanks to a moment of magic from Rodriguez.
Andre Gomes' diagonal pass was touched into the path of Rodriguez by Lucas Digne and the Colombian's initial cross was blocked by Wesley Fofana. However, the Leicester defender could not keep control of the ball and it ran back to Rodriguez, who curled in his first goal since October off the post.
Leicester suffered another blow just before the break when Wilfred Ndidi was replaced by Nampalys Mendy because of injury, but it didn't hamper them too much as they picked up in the second half where they left off in the first.
After a clever short corner routine, Barnes' shot was parried by Pickford, with James Justin placing the rebound wide from the edge of the area.
Pressure continued to build as Everton continued to soak up plenty of Leicester pressure, but it finally told as Pickford let Tielemans' low shot through his grasp.
International goalkeepers should be saving that.
Calvert-Lewin was an isolated figure for much of the game but he had a big chance in the 90th minute, heading Digne's cross wide, while Maddison also fluffed his lines, lifting an effort high over the crossbar as both sides shared the spoils.
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti: "It was a tough game. I thought we defended more than we attacked, we did quite well and it's a good point.
"We didn't have the control that we wanted when they equalised, the game was more in their control, but the point was fair. It wasn't that we defended too deep, it was the fact we didn't quite have the quality after they equalised.
"I said two weeks ago this is an unpredictable league, unbelievable. There are good games and hard games - we played against Sheffield United, who are at the bottom, and had problems. It's a really exciting Premier League."
This is not the right place to talk about this. He can do better but it doesn't matter.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers: "I was really pleased with the team. We started the game very well and worked our way through the lines. They sat really deep.
"We made a mistake for their goal which gave them something to hang on to. It was about how we responded. In the second half, we were outstanding. We were unfortunate we couldn't get the second goal.
"On another day we could have won it. We knew we'd have to have patience and there wouldn't be too many goals. Performance-wise, it was really good. They are a tough team to play against."
No goals for the winger, but he was a real livewire for Leicester.
His direct runs caused the Everton defence plenty of problems all evening and it was a performance which is sure to have caught the eye of the watching England boss.
Everton face Newcastle at Goodison Park on Saturday in the Premier League; kick-off 12.30pm.
Meanwhile, Leicester host Leeds United on Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 1pm; kick-off 2pm.
