In a chaotic game last night that left both Everton and Leicester City in serious trouble at the bottom of the Premier League standings, they were forced to settle for a draw.
A point was enough to lift Leicester out of the relegation zone on goal differential, while Everton remained in 19th position, one point below 17th-placed Leeds, even though the two teams entered the game in the bottom three.
After being fouled by Timothy Castagne, Dominic Calvert-Lewin picked himself up to score his second goal of the year from the penalty spot to start the scoring. The advantage only lasted seven minutes before the home team equalised through Caglar Soyuncu, who calmly finished off Wout Faes’ pass.
The game was turned around by Leicester after 33 minutes when the nimble Jamie Vardy seized on a through pass from James Maddison, around Jordan Pickford, and fired home.
Before halftime, the Toffees should have equalised, but Calvert-Lewin managed to blow a clear opportunity from a few yards out after the ball appeared to strike his heel. Then, Leicester broke down the other end, and Vardy hit the crossbar.
Pickford still had time in a frantic first half to save Maddison’s penalty, which the England midfielder hit right down the centre. Nine minutes after the restart, Alex Iwobi guided in a low finish to tie the score for the visitors, but neither team was able to score the game’s winning goal.
Leicester couldn’t hang on
The game was between two teams fighting for top-flight survival, but it was a missed chance for those teams hoping to avoid the relegation spot. Both the home fans’ “clappers” and the visiting supporters’ noisy backing created an electrifying atmosphere at King Power Stadium.
After waiting to take the penalty at the end of the first half, Maddison fluffed his attempt straight at Pickford, which ultimately proved to be the pivotal moment. It would have given Leicester a 3-1 lead and possibly put them out of reach, but Sean Dyche’s team managed to salvage a draw thanks to Iwobi’s well-placed goal on the hour mark.
To keep their place in the top division, Leicester must win their next four matches—away at Fulham and Newcastle, as well as at home against Liverpool and West Ham on the final day of the season.
Where will Everton score their next point?
Everton are stuck in a rut just like their rivals. Despite a promising start, the Toffees have only won one of their last 11 games under Dyche, and the eight points they collected during that stretch were not enough to get them out of trouble.
This was a significant opportunity to return to winning ways, and it got off to a good start thanks to Calvert-Lewin’sbrutalpenalty, but it’s unclear where the points will come from in their remaining games.
Following that, they play at Brighton, then host league champions Man City, and finish the season at Goodison Park against Bournemouth.
They have a trip to Wolves in between, but it is also a difficult task for a team that has lost 15 straight away games and won just two of its previous 34 league away games.
While Dyche will be happy to recover a point, the league’s lowest scorers managed to score two goals this time. Early in the first half, Daniel Iversen produced an incredible reaction save to deny Iwobi. The Danish goalkeeper also stopped attempts from Calvert-Lewin’s surprising error and Dwight McNeil’s shot.
Abdoulaye Doucoure raced forward and fired an arrowed low shot that Iversen turned around the post at full stretch as Everton sought the victory, but he kept his best for last.
