Evans Earns Point for Leicester at 10-man Saints

 

Jonny Evans’ header ensured Champions League hopefuls Leicester avoided a surprise defeat to 10-man Southampton as they drew 1-1 at St Mary’s.

The hosts may have been fearing a repeat of last season’s 9-0 thrashing after Jannik Vestergaard was shown a contentious early red card for denying Jamie Vardy a clear goalscoring opportunity.

But, after limiting Leicester and the Premier League’s man of the moment Kelechi Iheanacho to some sporadic half-chances, out-of-form Southampton instead took the lead after an hour when Iheanacho’s handball allowed James Ward-Prowse to step up and beat Kasper Schmeichel from 12 yards.

The Saints’ lead lasted only seven minutes as Iheanacho redeemed himself by finding Evans with a cross from deep which was powered home by the experienced centre-back.

Southampton's James Ward-Prowse scores from the penalty spot against Leicester
Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse scores from the penalty spot against Leicester

Vardy was denied by Southampton ‘keeper Alex McCarthy late on when he should have earned another comeback win for Leicester, who instead missed the chance to move 10 points clear of fifth place and could now see their cushion inside the Champions League spots cut by West Ham and Chelsea later this weekend.

Comments