Palace 2 City 2
Report by Colin Hall
Goals from Robert Huth and Jamie Vardy helped Leicester City secure a 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park in a frantic encounter with hosts Crystal Palace.
Given normal circumstances, the Blue Army would have been left frustrated at seeing their side squander a two-goal lead for the first time in nearly six years, especially given the highly questionable nature of the hosts' equaliser.
However, fans and management alike will have been relieved that the side eventually emerged with a point against in-form opponents, and that no major injury worries arose in preparing for the crunch Champions League clash at home to Atletico Madrid.
In addition, the result extended the gap between City and the bottom three to nine points, helping to banish any lingering fears of relegation still further.
Many past City managers would have rested key players for such a physically demanding fixture. Craig Shakespeare, though, took a different approach, omitting just two players – Danny Drinkwater and Shinji Okazaki – from the team that had started in midweek.
This call brought an early reward, as the Foxes took the lead after just six minutes with another goal from a setpiece. A long throw from Christian Fuchs found Robert Huth in the six-yard box, and the veteran defender headed home past a static Eagles defence.
During the remainder of a disjointed first-half, regularly punctuated with free-kicks, City held on to this lead with some comfort, though Kasper Schmeichel was forced into a close-range save from the lively Benteke.
Palace continued to press after the break, but their frenzied penalty claims were denied by referee Mike Dean, who ruled – correctly – that Marc Albrighton had blocked a Zaha cross with his chest rather than his arm.
Immediately afterwards, the Foxes extended their lead with the best move of the match. Huth's clearance from a corner reached Riyad Mahrez, who showed great awareness and vision to send Jamie Vardy clear. The England striker wrong footed his marker – former team-mate Jeff Schlupp – and fired in a shot which proved too hot for Hennessey in the home goal.
City's hopes of closing the game out for a routine victory were soon dashed, though. Slack work by the defence allowed a Zaha cross to reach Schlupp at the far post, and his effort was deflected into the path of an unmarked Cabaye, who duly reduced the arrears.
This prompted an aerial onslaught by the home side, during which Huth and Yohan Benalouane were kept particularly busy.
But just when it seemed that City had weathered the worst of the storm, they were dealt a further blow, as Benteke outpowered Benalouane to head home a Townsend cross from the left. It was precisely the type of physical challenge that referee Dean had routinely penalised throughout the afternoon, yet on this occasion he chose not to act, allowing the goal to stand.
Nevertheless, the visitors displayed character and resilience – qualities not always in evidence on their travels during this campaign – to see out the remainder of the game and earn a valuable draw. Indeed, Drinkwater, introduced as a sub for Andy King, could even have snatched victory in the dying seconds, only to see his left-footed drive fly wide of the Palace goal.
In overall terms, though, the result was probably fair on both sides, and will go a long way towards ensuring they will meet again at Premier level next season.
Shakespeare and his team will know that a significant improvement form will be needed in order to overcome Atletico, one of Europe's most impressive sides over recent seasons, in the forthcoming showdown at King Power Stadium.
But if City can perform – individually and collectively – to the full range of their capabilities, as well benefit from the type of breaks in their favour which have gone against them in recent games, then there is still reason to believe their European adventures may yet be extended further.
Palace (4-2-3-1): Hennessey; Ward, Kelly, Sakho, Schlupp (Van Aanholt 69); Milivojevic, Cabaye; Townsend, Puncheon, Zaha (McArthur 84); Benteke. Subs not used: Speroni, Flamini, Campbell, Sako, Delaney.
Scorers: Cabaye (54), Benteke (70).
Leicester (4-4-1-1): Schmeichel; Simpson, Benalouane (Chilwell 76), Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez (Gray 75), Ndidi, King (Drinkwater 64), Albrighton; Ulloa; Vardy. Subs not used: Musa, Amartey, Okazaki, Zieler.
Scorers: Huth (6), Vardy (52).
Booked: Simpson, King.
Attendance: 25,504 Referee: Mike Dean
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation